


Shattered Bonds

by RogueGona



Series: A Mandalorian Story [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Character Death, Clan Kryze, Drama, Drama & Romance, Established Relationship, F/F, Force Bond (Star Wars), Great Galactic War (Star Wars), Grief/Mourning, Lightsaber Battles (Star Wars), Major Original Character(s), Mandalorian Armor (Star Wars), Mandalorian Clans (Star Wars), Mandalorian Culture (Star Wars), Mandalorians - Freeform, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Original Character(s), Other, POV Canon Character, POV Original Female Character, Planet Mandalore (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: A New Hope, Post-Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Pre-Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Rebel Alliance (Star Wars), Romance, Sequel, Slow Burn, Star Wars Galactic Empire Era, Star Wars: Original Trilogy Era, The Force, The Mandalorian Purge, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:21:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29566746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueGona/pseuds/RogueGona
Summary: "Have you ever thought about what we're going to do after the war is over?"Two years have passed since Jaina Kavos nearly died trying to save her parents from the Empire. The fight for control over Mandalore still rages, and Jaina has taken up the cause alongside her parents, her clan, and former Alliance pilot, Emry Manewal. Despite the ongoing war, life for Jaina and Emry couldn't get much better. Once an Imperial loyalty officer, Jaina has put her knowledge of the inner workings of the Empire to good use, leading an intelligence group determined to take the Imperials down from the inside. Meanwhile, Emry has traded an Alliance starfighter for a Mandalorian one, flying and fighting under the banner of Clan Kryze.But unbeknownst to everyone, a new threat is growing in the far reaches of the Outer Rim. When the Force brings Jaina a vision, warning of the growing danger, she must make a decision. Stay and continue the fight on Mandalore with her family? Or throw caution to the wind and risk everything, for people she's never even met...
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano/Original Character(s), Barriss Offee & Original Characters, Barriss Offee/Ahsoka Tano, Jaina Kavos & Emry Manewal, Kaeden Larte & Ahsoka Tano, Original Child Character(s) & Original Mandalorian Characters, Original Mandalorian Characters (Star Wars) & Original Character(s)
Series: A Mandalorian Story [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168640





	1. Aurek

**Author's Note:**

> This work is the sequel to my first story, "Divided Loyalty." While this can be read as a stand-alone, "Divided Loyalty" provides a lot more context and background for the characters in this one.

Jaina Kavos's comm crackled to life and her mother's voice came through. "He's on the move."

"Copy that," she replied. Peering around the corner of the building, she watched and waited for the Imperial officer they were following to come into her view. The streets of Sundari were abnormally busy this afternoon, and she strained to see through the crowd. Finally, she caught a glimpse of the unmistakable grey of an Imperial officer's headgear, bobbing along with everyone else.

"Got him." She switched the comm off and stepped out from the alley she'd been waiting in, grimacing as she felt her leg threaten to buckle from the first movement it'd had in the last hour or so. The officer was almost passing her now, and she eased her way into the foot traffic around him; her blonde hair, blue eyes, and casual clothes easily blended in with the other Mandalorians going about their business for the day. No one paid her, or the lightsaber hanging at her hip, any attention as she fell in behind the officer.

The stiffness in her leg worked itself out—as it always did—after a minute or two of walking, and she casually trailed behind the officer, always keeping at least a few people in between the two of them. This was the third time in the last three months he'd visited the capital, but today was the first time he didn't have a trooper escort or an aide with him. _Imperial arrogance at its finest_ , she thought and instinctively rolled her eyes.

The first time they'd followed him, she'd felt nothing but fear coming from him. He knew he was in hostile territory, but they'd left him alone, choosing to follow and observe him instead. They'd done the same on his return trip, gathering more information about his dealings on the planet and once again leaving him alone. This time, it appeared that he felt safe enough to come by himself. He was taking the same route he took the last time, and she knew her hand-off point was coming up.

She pulled out her comm and keyed it to Arne's frequency. "Heading your way."

"Copy that," came the reply. Arne was somewhere ahead of her, waiting to pick up the tail, just as she'd done with her mother. A few minutes later her comm came to life again. "Got him. Catch you on the flip side."

Jaina slowed her pace, allowing more and more people to fill the space between her and the officer, then headed down a side street to find somewhere to wait.

This was the pattern they'd followed the last two times and hadn't needed to alter it yet. Her mother picked him up at the landing pads once the officer departed his shuttle, then handed him off to her daughter. Jaina would follow him until she handed him off to Arne, who would follow him until he entered the Imperial administrative building, handing him off to their informant on the inside. Once he was done with his meetings, the process would then repeat itself in reverse, until the officer was back on his shuttle and headed away from Sundari.

They wouldn't have even known that the admiral—in charge of one of the Imperial Navy’s largest task forces—was meeting with anyone on Mandalore had it not been for Jaina. She'd been the one to discover the encrypted communications between him and the moff Imperial Center had left in charge of the entire Mandalore system, once Clan Saxon had been forced out of power. Whatever the two were meeting about, it couldn't be good, and Bo-Katan had personally tasked the three of them—Jaina, her mother, and Arne—to find out what was going on.

She ducked into a small cafe and took a seat near the window. She had at least an hour to kill before she'd need to be back on the street and ready to pick up the tail again. Someone came over to take her order, and as much as she would've liked something stronger to sip on while waiting, she settled for caf instead. The time passed slowly, and she fought the inevitable boredom by watching the people passing by outside. The emotions of those in the city were the same as they'd been the last couple of times she was here: anxious, with an underlying current of fear.

It was no secret that the Empire had been trying to strengthen its hold on the planet for years now. Bo-Katan's resistance group—comprised of all the major Mandalorian clans—had fought them at every turn, but the prolonged conflict was starting to take its toll. Jaina had the sense that the Empire knew this and was concerned that they were planning something big. It was the only explanation for the task force admiral's presence here. Luckily, her cousin had agreed with her. Now she just needed to prove that her instincts were correct.

If it was up to her, she would capture the admiral today, while he was alone and unguarded. She could easily pry the information they needed out of him and have him back to his shuttle before anyone missed him. But Bo-Katan wasn't on Mandalore at the moment, and Jaina wasn't about to do anything like that without her approval. She'd just have to be patient. She frowned, realizing being patient also meant she'd have to sift through the stack of intercepted Imperial communications that were waiting for her back at the command center.

It was one of the first things she'd been able to do once she'd become mobile again, after the incident at the Imperial outpost. She'd been eager to do whatever she could to help out, and Bo-Katan had immediately assigned her the task of sorting through all the intercepted communications they received. At the time, it was the only thing she could do, given her limited mobility, but she also knew her knowledge of Imperial protocols and codes was the main reason Bo-Katan had given it to her.

Unfortunately—or fortunately depending on how you looked at it—she’d been so adept at finding actionable intelligence from those communications, that it had become a permanent job. And it had led to her taking over all of the intelligence work. The work kept her in the command center the majority of the time, but whenever the opportunity came up to go out on a mission, she jumped at it. Like today.

An hour passed, then another before she started getting concerned. The admiral hadn't met with the moff this long in his previous trips, and she wondered if he had somehow caught wind of their tail on him, or if their spy on the inside had been made. The more she thought about it, the more worried she got. Deciding she couldn't wait any longer, she exited the cafe and went looking for Arne, to see if he might know what's going on.

She'd made it a quarter of the way to the administration building before Arne's voice came over her comm. "Target's out and moving your way."

Cursing under her breath, she immediately turned around and made a beeline back to her pickup point. "Copy that, moving into position now," she replied. She had just gotten set up when she saw the admiral approaching her.

"Got him. See you at the rendezvous point," she told Arne, before re-keying her comm to her mother's frequency and tucking it away. Once again, she casually blended into the crowd behind the officer as he walked, this time putting a little bit more space between the two of them since the late afternoon foot traffic had dropped considerably. He seemed completely oblivious to her presence behind him, and his emotions didn't give her any indication that something was amiss.

Nearing her mother's pickup point, she pulled out her comm again. "Almost to you."

Her mother sent a quick acknowledgment back, then two minutes later: "Got him. See you in a little bit." Jaina peeled off and headed straight for the location they'd agreed to meet at once the operation was finished. Thirty minutes later, she saw her mother enter the far side of the plaza and smiled at her as she walked up.

"Any issues on your end?" Jaina asked her as they shared a quick hug.

"None," her mother replied with a shake of her head. "It went as smoothly as it has the last two times. Although," she cocked her head, "did he stay longer than normal, or was that my imagination."

"No, he did," Jaina replied. "I'm hoping Arne has some answers for that. If not, we'll have to wait on Prudii's report." Prudii was the code-name she'd given to their Imperial spy. She was still trying to groom him, and his reports always left something to be desired. But he was trying, and he was the only eyes and ears they had inside the administrative building, so she couldn't complain too much.

"Have you thought about trying to meet with him?" her mother asked, saying aloud what she was already thinking. "Could be useful, considering how this is the third meeting in three months."

Jaina absentmindedly nodded, thinking, while they walked. They were heading in the general direction of their rendezvous point with Arne. "I think, for now," she said slowly, "I'll see what his report says. If I feel like I need a face-to-face after that, then I'll set one up. He's already jumpy enough, I don't want to spook him."

Her mother nodded and let the issue drop, knowing it was useless to argue with her. Her parents had learned—after a few months of growing pains—to let their daughter handle things her way. But even then, sometimes they just couldn't resist. She tolerated it, just happy to have the second chance she did to argue with them about anything.

"So," her mother started, a hint of anticipation in her voice, "they're due back today." Jaina shot her an annoyed look, knowing exactly what she was getting at.

"I know," she replied evenly. "And I know what you're about to ask and the answer is still, 'I don't know.'"

Her mother let out an exasperated sigh. "You've been together two years, Jaina. How much longer are you going to wait?"

Jaina grunted but didn't reply. The truth was, she'd been planning on asking Emry to marry her two months ago, but she'd gotten busy with an operation, then Emry had left on a mission with Bo-Katan, and they'd been gone for a month now. Jaina was well aware of the fact that they were supposed to be coming back today, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up either. This was the fourth time they'd gotten word that they were returning home, but it hadn't happened yet.

"Not much longer," she finally answered. "If you haven't noticed, we've been a little busy lately. I'm just waiting for the right time."

Her mother sighed again. "I know we've been busy. That's not going to change any time soon, and if you wait for the right time, you'll never do it. You have to make the time. You do want to marry her, right?"

"Of course," Jaina replied, casting a sideways glance at her. "And I promise I'm going to ask her...soon."

Her mother said nothing, and they walked a few more steps in silence. Jaina knew she wasn't mad, just frustrated. She heard her mother huff and looked over at her, seeing she was giving her a teasing smile. "Well, don't take too long. Your father and I would like to have at least one grandchild to spoil before we die."

Jaina rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but she was smiling. Her mother hadn't said it, but Jaina knew there was more to her words than simply wanting a grandchild. It was an obligation she was expected to carry out, for the clan, to pass on the bloodline.

Under any other circumstances, she wouldn't have cared. It wasn't like she didn't want children; she did, and it was something she and Emry had already discussed and were in agreement about. There was just one little issue, and it terrified her. Only Emry knew why she was so hesitant, and it wasn't something she wanted to discuss with her parents just yet. Not until she had more answers. And to get those answers, she'd need to speak to her master, whom she hadn't seen for several months now.

Arne was waiting for them at the rendezvous point, and she pushed those thoughts out of her head. He was dressed in casual street clothes, just as Jaina and her mother were, and looked bored. "Any issues?" Jaina asked him, as they walked up.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "Although he stayed longer than normal, which is concerning."

Jaina nodded in agreement. "Do you know why? Did Prudii say anything to you?"

Arne shook his head again. "I never heard a word from him, which is also concerning. I'd be interested to see what his next report says, whenever he decides to get it to us."

Jaina nodded again. That was certainly unsettling, and she hoped nothing had gone wrong. "All clear," her mother called, and Arne popped the lid on the concealed hatch that led to the network of underground tunnels beneath the city. As far as they knew, the Empire was completely unaware of them. Jaina hadn't known anything about them either until Bo-Katan had shown her once she'd taken over the intelligence work. Her cousin had told her they'd been used during the Clone Wars, and the numerous entry and exit points made it easy to slip in and out of the city virtually unnoticed.

Arne led the way as they climbed down and set off in the direction of their predetermined exit point. Somewhere nearby, there was a starfighter waiting for their extraction call. She couldn't help but notice Arne's slight limp as he walked. He'd been injured not long after she had and had been assigned to help her while he recovered. They'd become fast friends, bonding over the work and their shared recovery. He'd helped her get their little group up and running, and while technically, she was in charge, Jaina never thought of Arne as anything but an equal. What she lacked in tactical experience, he more than made up for.

It had just been the two of them for almost a year until her mother had joined them, after being injured herself during an operation that had gone horribly wrong. Worst of all, it had been Jaina's operation that had gotten her injured, and she still couldn't shake the guilt from it, even though her mother was now fine. It had been the three of them ever since, and though Jaina knew her mother and Arne missed going out with the other warriors, they never complained. In fact, they seemed to enjoy the change of pace that the intelligence work brought.

She heard Arne call for their pickup, and five minutes later, began to see the literal light at the end of the tunnel. They were walking in a single file, Arne in front of her and her mother behind her, when Jaina suddenly stopped.

Her mother nearly plowed her over and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Jaina heard the concern in her voice and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong." She turned and excitedly looked at her mother. "They're here!"

"What?" her mother said, clearly confused. "Who's here?"

"Emry, Bo, Papa...they're all here!" Jaina didn't even wait for her mother to reply before she turned and jogged towards the end of the tunnel. Her leg started to protest—running was something that still aggravated it—but she ignored it. She would pay for it later, but at the moment, her desire to see Emry and her father far outweighed the discomfort.

Arne and her mother were close behind her when she emerged from the tunnel, blinking in the glare of the late afternoon sun. Fifty meters away, sat a Gauntlet starfighter with its engines still running and its ramp lowered. A lone warrior was waiting for them at the bottom of the ramp, helmeted, but Jaina would recognize his armor anywhere.

"Heard you guys needed a ride!" Jaina could hear the smile in her father's voice, and she grinned back as she jogged over to him.

He snatched her up in a giant hug, lifting her off the ground slightly before setting her back down again. "Missed you too, Papa," she said. He gently touched his helmet to her forehead, then released her so he could do the same thing to his wife. Jaina followed Arne up the ramp and into the ship, and immediately noticed how full of new faces it was.

They moved through the crowd, trying to find somewhere to sit. Almost every jump seat was taken, and they finally found two near the cockpit and sat down. "Looks like their recruiting mission was a success," Arne mused, as they looked around at the newcomers. She saw more than a few nervous faces, and all were younger than her, but there was an underlying eagerness she could feel coming from every single one. Age and nerves aside, they badly needed the numbers, and Jaina was pleased to see how many Bo-Katan had managed to bring in.

"Jaina. Arne. Good to see you two again." The voice belonged to Tristan Wren, Sabine's brother and the one in charge of training all the new recruits.

"Good to see you, too," Jaina replied, extending her arm. Tristan shook it, then Jaina motioned to the crowd. "So, how do they look?"

Tristan snorted, then looked over at the recruits. "Rough around the edges, but that's to be expected. They'll be ready though, soon enough." Jaina nodded, knowing he'd have them ready in no time. Tristan had trained Emry, and what he'd done with her had far surpassed any expectations Jaina had had. There was a reason Emry was the one flying Bo-Katan around, and Tristan's training had a lot to do with it.

Tristan moved on after a few minutes, disappearing into the crowd. Jaina and Arne spent the remainder of the flight chatting quietly about work, trying to figure out what they were going to do about Prudii and his sudden silence. By the time the ship landed, they'd agreed on a plan. They were going to give Prudii two more days to make contact, and if he didn't, Jaina would signal for a meet. Neither wanted to scare him off, but the information he might have was too valuable not to risk it.

Jaina and Arne stayed seated while the others filed off the ship. She could hear Tristan shouting orders already and smiled to herself. She almost felt sorry for the recruits. Tristan could be more intense than his sister, and while his training was extremely effective, Jaina was glad she would never have to experience it.

"You coming?" Arne asked her when he finally stood up.

"I'll meet you in there in a little bit," she replied, standing as well and glancing towards the cockpit door. Arne followed her gaze, smirking when he realized why she was choosing to wait.

"Copy that. Don't take too long. We still have work to do." His tone was teasing, and Jaina rolled her eyes, then started shoving him towards the ramp. He laughed and gave her only enough resistance to make it annoying.

"Get out of here," she told him, laughing as well. She sent a gentle push with the Force and he stumbled down the ramp. Arne shook his head at her, and she could hear him laughing as he walked towards the command center. Just then, the door to the cockpit slid open and her cousin walked out. Jaina straightened up and bowed her head respectfully to her.

"Welcome home," she said and offered Bo-Katan her arm. Jaina couldn't see her face, but the relief coming from her was strong. It was obvious she was happy to finally be back.

"Thanks," Bo-Katan replied, taking her arm for a brief moment. "Give me thirty minutes, and then I'll be ready for your debrief."

Jaina nodded her acknowledgment and Bo-Katan continued, down the ramp and out of sight. Jaina turned and waited, her excitement growing now that she could feel Emry's presence so strongly. A few moments later, the cockpit door slid open again and finally, Emry walked out. 

"Hey, beautiful," Jaina said, her face breaking into a wide grin. Emry must not have expected her to wait because as soon as she saw her, she froze. A second later, she yanked her helmet off, and, letting it fall to the floor, ran to Jaina.

Jaina wrapped her arms tightly around her and kissed her. All the pent-up emotion from the last month of being apart poured out of them both, completely filling her senses. The sensation was so strong it nearly caused her legs to buckle, and she gripped Emry even tighter, steadying herself. After a few long moments, Jaina pulled away and leaned her forehead against Emry's.

"Welcome home," she murmured. "I missed you." Emry kissed her again, then pulled back to look at her.

"I missed you, too," Emry said. She chuckled. "Although, if this is the kind of welcome I'm going to get every time I'm gone for a while, then maybe I should leave more often." 

Jaina frowned and vigorously shook her head. "Nope, that's unacceptable. I won't allow it."

Emry laughed. "I don't think you have much say in the matter. But hopefully, next time, we won't be gone as long. I don't know about you, but it felt like we were gone much longer than a month."

"Not just you...it felt like that to me, too," Jaina said, finally releasing her. She knew they were both needed in the command center. What Jaina _really_ wanted to do was blow off work and all the rest of her responsibilities and spend the remainder of the day alone with the woman she loved. But purpose came before feelings, and they both had their own duties that needed to be carried out.

Emry walked over and picked her helmet up off of the floor where she had dropped it, tucking it under one arm. She slid her free hand into Jaina's, and they walked down the ramp. "The mission certainly seemed like it went well, based on all the recruits I saw, but I get the feeling not all of it went as planned," Jaina said, as they walked towards the entrance to the base.

"No, it didn't," Emry agreed. "Every time we tried to come home we ran into issues. That's why we were gone so long. We ended up on Kalevala for two weeks while Bo tried to figure out how to slip past the blockade."

Jaina frowned. The Empire's blockade of the planet had been in effect for close to a year now, and they'd lost significant numbers trying to break it. It was the reason why her cousin had risked this recruiting mission to the other worlds in the Mandalore system. The sentiment among all the planets in the system was that they just wanted to be left alone. There seemed to be no shortage of people talking about wanting to fight and rid the system of the Empire once and for all. The hard part, she was learning, was trying to convince them to act on their words and join their cause. She had a feeling this was the first of many recruiting missions Emry was going to go on.

"So, how did you manage to get past it today?" Jaina asked. Emry gave her a wry smile.

"Same as how we did in the Rebellion," she replied. "Blasted our way through." She laughed, and Jaina heard the grim satisfaction in it. "Let's just say there's at least one TIE squadron that won't be a problem anymore."

Jaina chuckled and shook her head. "I bet that felt good." Emry laughed again.

"It did," she replied. "Almost made me miss my X-wing." Jaina raised an eyebrow at her. In the two years since leaving the Rebellion, this was the first time she'd heard Emry say anything about missing it. Jaina couldn't help but wonder if there was something Emry wasn't telling her. That thought was unsettling, and she tried to squash it before it even had a chance to take root.

Emry immediately noticed Jaina’s silence and squeezed her hand. "I said, almost."

Jaina shook off the uneasiness and smiled at her. "I know. It doesn't matter what you fly, those TIE pilots don't stand a chance against you." She kissed the back of Emry's hand. "I'm glad you were able to get everyone back though, safely and in one piece."

"Me too," Emry said. Just then, they both heard a high-pitched squeal followed by "Emry!" Turning, Jaina saw a girl, no older than five, running at full speed towards the two of them. Emry chuckled and knelt down, opening her arms up wide. Anni, the daughter of one of Jaina's cousins, threw herself into Emry's outstretched arms, almost knocking her over. Jaina tried and failed to stifle a quiet laugh.

"You're back!" Anni cried. "I missed you!" Anni had taken a liking to Emry early on, declaring to anyone who would listen that she was going to be a pilot, "just like her." The girl's constant attention had embarrassed Emry, especially at first when she still so new, but she'd grown fond of Anni over time. Jaina thought the whole thing was adorable and never missed a chance to tease Emry about it.

"I missed you, too," Emry replied, and Jaina could tell that she genuinely meant it. Anni didn't seem to want to let go of her and eventually, Emry pried herself out of Anni's grasp. "I have to go to work now, but I'll come by tomorrow and you can tell me all about what you've been doing while I've been gone."

"Okay!" Anni replied. "And maybe we can go flying?" Emry smiled warmly at her.

"Maybe. Only if you're good though." Anni nodded solemnly, then threw her arms around Emry again.

"I'll be good, I promise," she said. She finally let go, then ran off to join her friends. Emry stood back up and slowly shook her head when she saw the amused look on Jaina's face. Jaina slipped her hand into Emry's again, and they continued walking to the command center.

"She asked me every single day when you were coming home," Jaina told her. "I hated having to tell her that I didn't know."

Emry gave her a guilty look. "Sorry. I tried explaining that I'd be gone for a while, but I don't think she fully understood."

"It's okay," Jaina said, smiling at her. "I suppose it's good practice for, you know, later on."

Emry returned her smile, then raised an eyebrow at her. "Speaking of that, have you been able to get a hold of Ahsoka at all?"

Jaina shook her head. "No, she's still out of contact. The blockade might have something to do with it, but I'm going to keep trying. My mother mentioned it again today, and I can't keep avoiding her inquiries forever."

"Your father brought it up a few times while we were gone, as well," Emry said. Seeing Jaina's worried look, she added: "Don't worry, I didn't tell him, but eventually you're going to need to."

"I know," Jaina replied. "But not before I talk to Ahsoka. I have no idea if it's passed on genetically or not, and until I know for sure, I'm not telling them anything."

Emry nodded, and they walked in silence until they reached the command center. "Well," Emry said, turning to face her before they went in, "you know how I feel about it. Even if he or she turns out to be Force-sensitive, they won't grow up like you did, no offense to your parents. I know they did what they did because they had to. Our child will know exactly what they are. It won't be some scary, foreign thing to them. And, who better to teach them about it, to train them, than their own mother?"

Jaina sighed, knowing Emry was right. She always knew precisely what to say to calm Jaina down, when her fears of having and raising a Force-sensitive child would threaten to spiral out of control. "I love you," she said, then leaned in and gave Emry a quick kiss.

They entered the command center and went their separate ways—Emry to work on the mission report and file her flight logs and Jaina to her workstation next to Arne. A glance at the chrono told her she had about ten minutes to prepare for her debriefing with Bo-Katan and she quickly got to work.

Two hours later, Jaina emerged from the debriefing, with new orders. She noticed Emry was still working as she made her way back to her workstation and wondered how much more she had to do. Arne was slowly going through the stack of intercepted communications, but the pile didn't look any smaller. Jaina sighed heavily as she sat down. Emry wasn't going to be happy with her if she came home late on her first night back, but there wasn't much Jaina could do about it.

"Well?" Arne asked her, slipping his headphones down around his neck and pausing the recording.

"The next time he comes back, so long as he's unaccompanied again, we're grabbing him," she replied. "We'll need somewhere in the city to take him, somewhere quiet, preferably close to the landing pads."

"How much time will you need?" Arne asked, already tapping away on his datapad.

Jaina thought for a moment. "An hour, tops." Arne nodded.

"Okay. Just the three of us, as usual?" Jaina shook her head.

"No, it'll be four. She will be coming with us."

"All right," Arne said. He set his datapad down. "I'll draft an ops plan and have it to you by the end of the week."

"Sounds good," Jaina replied. "In the meantime, she wants us to make as much headway with these communications as we can, in case there's anything in there that's useful. Or that hints to what their plan is."

"Copy that." Arne slipped his headphones over his ears again and got back to work. Jaina picked up her own headphones and grabbed the next data chip in the stack. The outside world fell away as she listened to the Imperial chatter. Most of it was useless, but every now and then she'd catch something worth writing down.

She was almost through all the recordings on the chip when she was startled by arms reaching around her from behind. Instinctively, she started to reach for her lightsaber, before realizing it was Emry. She pulled her headphones off and leaned back, into Emry's embrace.

"I'm heading home," Emry said, kissing her on the cheek. "How much more do you have to do?"

"More than I'd like," Jaina grumbled, gesturing to the stack of data chips.

"Well, don't be too late," Emry said, a hint of playfulness in her voice. "I'm not sure you're aware, but it's been a month since we've seen each other..."

"Oh, I'm aware," Jaina replied. She tilted her head back to look at Emry. "I promise I won't stay too late."

"Good." Emry kissed her then started for the door. Jaina turned around to watch her go and realized it was now just her and Arne left in the command center. She turned back around once Emry was gone and saw Arne had his headphones off again. He was giving her a look that made her think she'd done something wrong.

"What...?" she slowly asked. Arne just shook his head and chuckled.

"You haven't seen her in a month," he said. "Go home. I can finish up here."

Jaina skeptically looked from him to the stack of data chips, then back again. "Are you sure? I don't want to leave you with all of this." She didn't like leaving work unfinished. It was an old habit from her Imperial days that had stayed with her. The only time it ever became an issue was when she'd inadvertently choose the work over Emry when she didn't need to. It was something she'd been trying to work on for a while now.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied. "Go be with your girl. In fact, I'll even cover the morning for you, so long as you promise to let me have the afternoon off."

Jaina hesitated, then finally nodded. "I can definitely do that. Thank you, Arne, I owe you one."

Arne smiled and grabbed the next data chip in the stack. "You're welcome. You can repay me by watching Luka the next time Ava and I need a night to ourselves." 

Jaina grinned. "Deal." She reached for her headphones again and Arne arched his brow at her. "I promise I'm leaving, I just want to finish the recordings on this chip first." Arne looked like he wanted to argue, but then nodded and went back to work.

Jaina hurriedly listened to the rest of the recordings, then shut everything down. She said goodnight to Arne and headed out of the command center, into the cool evening air. The guilt she felt from leaving Arne working by himself quickly dissipated the closer she got to the small dwelling that she and Emry shared.

Emry had already showered and changed out of her armor and was in the small kitchen when Jaina walked in. Jaina couldn't help herself and stood there for a moment, admiring the view. Emry had left her still-wet hair down, and even in the loungewear she was wearing, Jaina thought she looked amazing.

Emry was in the middle of cutting up vegetables and didn't even bother turning around when she said, "This will be ready soon, so if you want to shower first, you better be quick about it." Jaina grinned and quickly crossed the room. She came up behind Emry and slipped her arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"It smells amazing," Jaina said. Emry put the knife down and turned her head. Jaina's lips found hers, and then, the entire world melted away as Jaina finally let Emry's presence in completely. It was something she'd had to learn early on in their relationship: how to control when and how much of Emry's presence she let in. For Jaina, it was intoxicating, and would quickly overpower all of her senses if she let it, effectively blocking her from being able to feel anything else.

After a blissful moment, Emry pulled away slightly and smiled. "But you don't," she said, "so go shower and then we can eat."

Jaina scoffed, pretending to be hurt by the accusation. Emry grinned at her and went back to chopping up the vegetables. Jaina showered as quickly as she could, and they spent the meal filling each other in on what the other had missed over the last month.

But no matter how hard Jaina tried to stamp it out, Emry's comment about missing the Rebellion kept poking at the back of her brain. It shouldn't have mattered; Emry had made it crystal clear that leaving was her choice, and she’d seemed to be content with it. And while Jaina didn’t consider herself to be very insecure, if Emry was starting to become unhappy, she needed to know. Preferably sooner, rather than later.

They were lying in bed, after spending the last couple of hours getting re-acquainted with each other, when Jaina finally decided she couldn't wait any longer. Emry was curled up next to her, one leg draped over Jaina's legs and her head resting on Jaina's chest. The fingers of her free hand were idly tracing up and down the small, but jagged scar on Jaina's abdomen, where the pipe had impaled her two years prior.

"Are you happy here?" Jaina kept her tone gentle, but she could feel the confusion flare immediately in Emry. Emry lifted her head and looked at her, frowning.

"What kind of question is that?" Emry asked. "Of course I'm happy here."

"Today was the first time I’ve heard you say anything about missing the Rebellion," Jaina explained, again keeping her tone gentle. "It made me wonder if maybe you wished you hadn't left."

Emry stared at her and Jaina could tell she was trying to work out what she wanted to say. She knew Emry wouldn't lie to her, so the longer she took to answer, the more uneasy Jaina became. If Emry wanted to leave, there was nothing Jaina could do to stop her. And as much as she loved Emry, she wasn't ready to leave home again. Finally, Emry blew out a slow breath.

"I do miss the people," she conceded, "at least sometimes. But I don't regret leaving. The Rebellion became the family I needed after I lost mine, and for a while that was enough. But you know how difficult things are here? The Empire's always one step ahead...we never have enough numbers to adequately fight them...and the operational tempo is extremely high?" Jaina nodded. It seemed like they were always fighting an uphill battle.

"Well, imagine that times like a hundred," Emry continued. "That's the Rebellion. It wears a person down. And I desperately needed a change. I just didn't know it until I met you." She smiled. "This place reminds me a lot of my home. At least, how I remember it being before I lost my parents and my brother.

"What you've given me, what your parents and the rest of your family have given me...the Rebellion could never give me that. I finally feel whole again. So yes, while I do sometimes miss fighting with the Rebellion, I would never trade that for what I have here with you."

Jaina was speechless. It wasn't even close to what she'd been expecting to hear, but hearing it filled her heart with so much happiness she thought it might burst out of her chest. She grabbed Emry's face and pulled her up to her, kissing her with as much passion as she could muster.

"I love you...so, so much," Jaina whispered. 

"I love you, too," Emry replied softly. "Does that answer your question?" Jaina nodded happily. "Good." Emry kissed her again, then laid her head back down on Jaina’s chest. There was a strong feeling of contentment radiating off of her, and it filled Jaina up.

Her mother was right. It was time, and Jaina couldn't keep waiting around for the perfect opportunity to present itself. She needed to make the time. And as she drifted off to sleep, Jaina knew exactly what she was going to do.


	2. Besh

Emry Manewal awoke to the delicious smell of meat frying. It wasn't the worst way to wake up, and she rolled over, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen. She had no idea what time it was, but based on how much light was streaming into the room through the lone window, she knew it had to be nearing mid-morning.

It wasn't unusual that Jaina was up before her—she always preferred getting up early to meditate—but it was rare to find her in the kitchen. Emry was far and away the better cook, and had mostly taken over that duty from the start.

She laid there for a while, not quite ready to get out of bed yet, but eventually, curiosity got the best of her and she got up. After throwing on some clothes, she wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the small table. Jaina turned around and smiled, then grabbed a cup, poured some caf in it, and brought it over to her.

"Good morning," she said, setting the cup down in front of Emry.

"Good morning," Emry replied, tilting her head up to receive Jaina's kiss. "What's all this for? Is there some special Mandalorian occasion I'm unaware of?"

"No," Jaina said, chuckling. She walked back over to the stove and stirred whatever was in the pan in front of her. "What, am I not allowed to make you breakfast on your first morning back?"

"No, you definitely are," Emry said. She took a sip of her caf. "It smells really good."

"Well, you leaving for a month kind of forced me to get a lot better," Jaina said. Emry sipped on the caf and watched her, amused but appreciative. She couldn't help but notice that, even while standing still, Jaina still favored her left leg over her right, and there was a barely noticeable limp in her step when she walked. Emry was pretty sure the limp would be permanent now, considering it had been two years already and it was still there, but Jaina never complained so Emry never brought it up.

An involuntary shudder hit her as the memory of that day suddenly surfaced. It had been one of the worst days of her life. Everything had gone exactly as planned—until it hadn't. The attack on the Imperial complex had worked brilliantly. The Imperials never saw them coming, and Clan Wren had brought the whole compound down in a stunning display of explosive power. What no one had known though, was that one of their own was still inside one of the buildings.

Emry still had no idea how Jaina had survived the explosions and then the building collapse. She supposed it probably had something to do with the Force, but it wasn't something they'd ever discussed. She shuddered again, remembering how bad she'd looked when Ahsoka and Bo-Katan had finally pulled Jaina out of the rubble.

At the time, Emry didn't think there was any way Jaina would survive the trip back to base. And she'd been right. Bo-Katan had forced Emry back into the cockpit, needing her to co-pilot the starfighter, so she hadn't seen what Ahsoka had done to save Jaina. But from what Bo-Katan had told her and Sabine, Ahsoka seemed to have performed some sort of miracle.

"You okay?" Jaina's concerned voice broke into her thoughts and Emry mentally flinched. A month away and she had apparently forgotten that she couldn't hide anything from her.

It could be annoying, Jaina always knowing exactly what she was feeling, but the ability had cut off a lot of fights before they could even start. There was no hiding her feelings, or sulking, or trying to pretend she was feeling something she wasn't. Jaina always knew. Emry only wished she had that ability sometimes, but she'd gotten very good at reading Jaina's moods.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Emry replied, shaking off the malaise and giving her a small smile. "So, what is it that you're making?"

Jaina regarded her for a moment before answering. Emry knew she was trying to decide if she wanted to take her answer at face value and not press for more information.

"It's something my mother used to make when I was growing up," she finally said, and Emry mentally breathed a sigh of relief. She really hadn't wanted to explain what she was thinking about. "I had her teach me how to make it while you were gone."

Emry nodded and watched her turn the heat off under the pan and prepare two plates for them. She brought them over to the table and set them down, taking a seat herself. Then Jaina reached down near her feet, and when she straightened back up, she set a small box down in front of Emry. Emry curiously looked between Jaina and the box, wondering what was going on.

"Open it," Jaina said, a smile crawling across her face.

Her hunger and the food suddenly forgotten, Emry pushed her plate to the side and pulled the box in front of her. She opened it, seeing what appeared to be two stencil outlines along with two small paint canisters. Still completely confused, she pulled one of the stencils out and immediately recognized it as Clan Kryze's symbol—the clan Jaina belonged to. Her eyes went wide and she looked up at Jaina, questioning but hopeful.

Jaina was grinning now, and she made a show of looking back down at the box. Emry followed her gaze and saw there was a folded piece of paper underneath the other stencil and paint canisters. She pulled it out and opened it up. There, written first in Mandalorian, then in Basic, were the words: _Will you marry me?_

It wasn't like it was a surprise. She'd known it was only a matter of time before she became an official member of the clan, but Emry was completely caught off-guard anyway. She stared at the words, her eyes suddenly burning as emotion welled up inside her.

"Two years ago," Jaina said softly, "I promised that I would fight for you, and for us." Emry looked up at her and saw that she, too, had tears in her eyes. "I intend to keep that promise," Jaina continued, "until I draw my very last breath." She paused and held Emry's gaze for a second. "If you'll allow me."

Words were impossible, so Emry just nodded. She quickly stood up and grabbed Jaina's face in her hands, kissing her like it was the first time all over again. After a very long moment, Jaina pulled her head back slightly and smiled. "I take it that's a yes?"

Emry grinned at her and vigorously nodded. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes," she said, emphatically kissing her between every word. She sat back down and pulled the stencils and paint out. "Does this mean I'm allowed to put these on now?"

She'd earned the right to wear the armor only six months prior. She'd been allowed to add the colors of the clan—Clan Kryze—that had sponsored her, but not the clan's symbol. That right was reserved for those who were official members of the clan—whether by birth or by marriage.

"Partially," Jaina replied. "I'll explain it while we eat, though, if that's okay. It tastes better when it's warm, I promise."

Emry pushed the items to the side, suddenly starving. They dug right in, and Jaina explained to her what Bo-Katan had said about putting the symbol on her armor. Since Bo-Katan was the head of the clan, Jaina had had to go to her first, to even get permission to ask Emry to marry her. 

Bo-Katan had obviously granted it to her and told Jaina that once Emry agreed to the marriage, she was allowed to add the symbol to only one shoulder—specifically the left. The other could be added after their official ceremony. In the two years Emry had been here, she'd seen a few marriage ceremonies, and they were nothing short of lively celebrations. They might be in the middle of a war, but for one day, all that would be put on hold so everyone could celebrate with the couple and their families.

"Was there anything special your people did when someone asked someone else to marry them?" Jaina asked her, as they cleaned up after the meal. "I know what we do here is pretty specific, since everything is so tied to the houses and clans. It made me wonder how different it is on your homeworld."

Emry thought for a moment, trying to remember. "I don't think there was any special ritual or anything, at least none that I can remember. The only thing I can recall that everyone did, was exchange rings."

Jaina cocked her head, clearly confused, and Emry mentally chided herself. It hadn't occurred to her that Jaina would have no idea what a ring was. Her people didn't wear them, and Emry had a feeling the Empire didn't allow them, so there was a very good chance she'd never seen one before. And if she had, she would've had no idea what it was anyway.

"It's a small band," Emry explained, "usually made of metal, that you wear around your finger. It signaled to everyone else that you were either married or about to be married."

Jaina slowly nodded. "Does it have to be made of metal?"

Emry shook her head. "No," she replied. "Sometimes they were made of sturdy plastoid or rubber. The miners especially preferred the rubber rings. Less likely to accidentally rip a finger off that way." She chuckled at the face Jaina made, knowing she was picturing what that might look like.

Jaina was quiet for a moment. "Can you show me?"

Emry frowned and started to shake her head. "They don't sell them here, and I don't—" A sudden thought occurred to her. "Hang on."

She ran into their bedroom and pulled out the box of spare starfighter parts she kept in there. It'd been a habit she'd acquired with the Rebellion, when, at least in the beginning, she'd been the only one able to fix her X-wing when it would break. Eventually, the Rebellion had grown large enough to have maintenance and ground crews for each squadron, but the habit had already stuck by that point. After a moment of rummaging around, she finally found what she was looking for: two very small rubber gaskets she'd replaced on her Gauntlet fighter recently.

She ran back out, where Jaina was waiting patiently at the table. "These might work," she said, placing the gaskets on the table in front of Jaina.

Jaina picked one of them up and studied it, then looked at her. "Which hand?" she asked. Emry held up her right hand and pointed to the proper finger.

"Give me your hand," Jaina said, now smiling warmly at her. Emry grinned and stuck her hand out. Jaina gently took it in hers and slid the gasket over her finger. It was slightly too big, but not so much that it'd fall off, and it would still fit comfortably under her gloves. Jaina bent her head and kissed Emry’s hand, then released it.

"Perfect," Emry said, and she meant it. The fact that Jaina had even bothered to ask and then include part of Emry's own culture meant more to her than she could put into words. Perfect was the only way to describe it.

Emry picked up the other gasket lying on the table. "Your turn," she told Jaina. Jaina held her hand out and Emry slid the gasket over her finger, noticing that it fit perfectly. She repeated what Jaina had done to her, kissing her hand, before pulling Jaina out of her chair and into an embrace.

"I love you," she murmured in Jaina's ear. She didn't even wait for a reply before she slowly started kissing down Jaina's neck. Her hands found their way underneath Jaina's shirt and Jaina's body shuddered in response. Jaina tolerated Emry's teasing for another few moments, then she wrapped her arms tightly around Emry and picked her up.

Emry wrapped her legs around Jaina's waist and kissed her as she was carried into the bedroom. Jaina gently laid her on the bed and Emry pulled her down on top of her. A few minutes later, Jaina breathlessly pulled away and sat up. Emry watched as she used the Force to close the window they always left open, save for moments like this. Jaina turned back to her once she was done, and grinned as Emry pulled her back down to her.

An hour later, they were seated at the table again, this time with the left shoulder pauldron of Emry's armor in front of them, along with one of the stencils and the paint. Jaina had helped her with the placement of the stencil on the armor itself and was now sitting back and watching as Emry slowly painted the symbol on.

"I don't know how Sabine changes hers so often," Emry grumbled. "This isn't that easy." She was decidedly not artistic, and it took most of her concentration just to make sure she didn't screw it up. Jaina laughed softly in response.

"She _is_ an artist...it's kind of her thing," Jaina said. Emry looked up and shook her hand out, and saw that Jaina had her lightsaber in her hands. She was turning it over, studying it, with her brow furrowed. "Ugh, she needs to come back soon. My lightsaber needs a touch-up and she'd kill me if I tried to do it myself."

Emry chuckled. "It looks fine." She gave Jaina a wry look. "It's not like it's been used in a while or anything."

Jaina looked up from the lightsaber, a semi-annoyed look on her face. "That's a good thing, you know."

Emry chuckled again and went back to painting. "I know." The last time she'd seen Jaina use it was the last time Ahsoka had paid them a visit. Which, now that Emry was thinking about it, was months ago. She always tried to get Jaina to come out with her when she'd go train with the other warriors, but those requests were met with resistance, usually in the form of some sort of excuse about work. She had no idea why Jaina was so hesitant to join them, but she didn't push her. Emry figured that if Jaina wanted to, she would, and Emry would just keep inviting her until that day came.

Emry was about halfway through the symbol when the door chimed. They exchanged confused looks—neither was expecting any visitors. Emry had the day off and Jaina had told her she'd arranged it with Arne that he would work the morning and she would work the afternoon. Jaina's frown deepened as she got up to answer it. It was obvious she already knew who it was, and Emry had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

Her hunch was correct. As soon as the door slid open, Arne rushed inside, obviously agitated, and speaking rapidly as he walked. "Prudii signaled, he wants to meet, today." He finally noticed Emry sitting there and gave her a quick wave. "Oh, hi Emry..." his voice trailed off when he saw what she was doing. He looked from her to Jaina, complete surprise quickly replacing the agitation. "Seriously?"

Jaina chuckled. "Yep. Seriously."

"Well, it's about damn time." He grinned. "Congratulations to you both."

"Thanks," they replied in unison, then Jaina fixed him with a serious look. "You were saying? Prudii wants to meet today? Why?"

Emry had learned long ago to tune out their work conversations, and that's exactly what she did now. She wanted to get this symbol done correctly, and listening to them would only distract her. She knew Jaina would fill her in on the details later.

A few minutes later, she heard the door open and looked up to see Arne leaving. The look on Jaina's face was one Emry knew well, and she gave Jaina a slightly sad smile. She had hoped they would've had a few more hours together before Jaina went to work, but it would appear that that wasn't going to happen.

Jaina guiltily smiled back. "I'm sorry. I need to go take care of this."

"I know," Emry said with a sigh. "It's okay." She went back to painting, while Jaina disappeared into the bedroom to get dressed. Most of the time, their jobs taking priority didn't bother her, but today it did. The morning had been amazing so far, and Emry wasn't ready for it to end. She was trying very hard not to sulk but failing miserably as she sat there continuing to paint.

"I'm sorry," Jaina said again, emerging from their room. Emry knew Jaina could feel every ounce of her disappointment, but she couldn't help it. "I'll make it up to you tonight," Jaina promised. "I just need to go see what he wants, then I'll be back."

Emry finally stopped painting and looked up at her. "Okay. Be careful, please." She smiled half-heartedly and Jaina came over to her.

"I will," Jaina said. "I love you." She bent down and Emry met her halfway. There was more intensity than normal behind the kiss, and Emry immediately realized that Jaina didn't want to leave her just yet either.

"I love you, too," Emry replied, finally pulling away. She noticed Jaina still had the gasket— _ring_ , she corrected herself, _it's a ring now_ —on her finger, and gave her a genuine smile. Jaina returned it, then hurriedly left.

Emry heaved a heavy sigh and went back to work. Twenty minutes later, the symbol was done. She picked the pauldron up and studied it, looking for any mistakes, but there appeared to be none. Although Emry knew if there were any, someone was bound to let her know.

She set the pauldron on the windowsill so it would dry faster, then showered and started cleaning their little home while she waited for the paint to dry. It was really just busywork—Jaina was the cleanlier of the two of them, something Emry chalked up to her time with the Empire, and the house was already decently clean. But it was better than sitting around doing nothing.

After about an hour, she checked on the pauldron and found the paint completely dry. The chrono told her she still had a few hours to kill before Anni would be done with her lessons for the day, so she stood in the bedroom, trying to figure out what she was going to do in the meantime. A conversation she'd had with Tristan Wren a few days ago suddenly popped into her mind, and she quickly dressed.

She knew it was just her imagination, but Emry could've sworn her left pauldron actually felt heavier now. She knew how important their clan identities were to each Mandalorian, and she felt the weight of that responsibility now. Clan Kryze had taken her in, made her one of their own, and she would do whatever it took to live up to their expectations of her. And to not let Jaina down.

Taking one last look in the mirror, she slipped her helmet on and headed out the door. She made her way outside the walls of the compound, towards the area where all the speeder bikes were parked. They were for anyone to use, so Emry hopped on the one closest to her, and a few moments later, she was speeding away from the base.

The training area was five kilometers or so away from the main base and encompassed an area three times that size. It was the primary area used to train all the new recruits, and Tristan had invited her out to either watch or assist him if she ever got the chance.

She'd spent over a year there, training with a few others, under Tristan's tutelage. Emry had done some extremely difficult things while in the Rebellion, but her training here had been on another level compared to that. If it hadn't been for Jaina, who was there for her every step of the way, she was certain she never would've made it through it.

But she did, and now here she was, riding out to see those whose place she'd been in not that long ago. She couldn't help but smile at the thought as she pulled up. Tristan had a whole cadre of warriors who helped him, and Emry could hear them barking orders before she ever saw them. She crested a small ridge and saw that she'd apparently arrived in the middle of shooting practice.

She surveyed the scene for a moment, before finally locating Tristan. He was standing behind the firing line, arms crossed, his helmeted head slowly sweeping back and forth across the line as he watched. Emry walked along the ridge until she was behind the firing line, then headed down. Tristan watched her approach, nodding a hello before turning his attention back to the line. Emry walked up next to him as the next group of shooters stepped up and started firing. Her helmet automatically filtered out the noise, and when Tristan spoke, it silenced the din altogether so the only thing she heard was his voice.

"I see congratulations are in order," he said. Emry heard the smile in his voice, and even though she knew he couldn't see it, she smiled anyway.

"Thank you," she replied. "It was a good morning, to say the least."

"I bet," Tristan said, chuckling. "So are you here to watch, or to help?"

"To help, if you need it," Emry replied. "I have a few hours before I need to be back."

"Perfect. You can go help Elias out—" he pointed to one of the warriors, whom she identified as being part of Clan Rook "—and then once you're comfortable, you can take one of the shooters on your own."

"Copy that," Emry replied. She walked over to Elias, who explained what they were doing. Emry watched him for a few iterations, then found a recruit that needed help and dove right in. Before she knew it, her time was up and she needed to head back. She'd promised Anni she'd take her flying today and had every intention of keeping that promise. The little girl could be a handful, but Emry enjoyed spending time with her and teaching her about flying. She only hoped at least one of her and Jaina's children would share her love of it as well.

Emry said her goodbyes to Tristan and the other warriors then sped back to the base. She headed straight for Anni's home, bracing herself for the rambunctious greeting she always received from her. Anni's mother answered the door, and after Emry explained why she was there, Anni's mother called for her. The little girl came running full tilt and launched herself at Emry.

"I was good all day, just like I said I would be!" she proclaimed, once Emry released her. Emry raised a questioning eyebrow at her mother, who nodded in agreement.

"She has been extraordinarily helpful today," she said. She knelt down and looked her daughter in the eye. "Now, you be good for Emry. Do whatever she says—no arguing. Do you understand?" Anni nodded solemnly, and her mother smiled at her. "And don't forget to have fun." Anni grinned back. "I won't!"

Her mother straightened up and this time she spoke directly to Emry, switching to Basic so Anni wouldn't understand them. "Where are you planning on taking her?"

"Over by the capital, then straight back," Emry replied, also in Basic. "We won't be gone long." Anni's mother nodded her approval and looked down at her daughter, who was looking up at the two of them expectantly.

"Okay. Just be careful. I know you're fully capable, but you know...I worry." She smiled.

"I know," Emry said, smiling reassuringly. "I'll keep her safe, I promise." Anni's mother bent down and hugged her daughter. As soon as her mother released her, Anni grabbed Emry's hand and began tugging her away. Emry chuckled and allowed herself to be drug along.

"Oh, and Emry?" Anni's mother said. Emry stopped and turned around. "Congratulations. You'll be a welcome addition to the clan."

Emry beamed at her. "Thank you. We haven't told her parents yet though, so..."

Anni's mother nodded understandingly, then laughed as Anni grabbed Emry's hand with both of hers and tugged even harder, trying to get her to walk. "All right, I'll let you two get to it. Have fun."

Emry waved goodbye and finally relented to Anni's insistent tugging. She let the girl lead her to the landing pads, and then Emry led the rest of the way to her fighter. She made Anni slowly walk around it with her, showing her all the things she needed to check prior to flying. Anni listened with rapt attention, which was impressive because Emry could tell all she wanted to do was get into the cockpit. Emry knew the feeling, but if she was going to teach her, she wanted to make sure she did it right.

After their visual inspection, Emry let Anni lower the ramp and they walked up into the ship. This was their third time flying together, but she still made Anni pay attention to her pre-flight checks. Emry explained everything she did to her, showing Anni what each button, knob, and switch did. This time, however, instead of doing it herself, after Emry finished explaining a step she let Anni start turning the ship's systems on.

It took twice as long as it normally did, but eventually, they were ready to go. Emry made sure Anni was securely strapped into the co-pilot's seat, then had the girl place her hands on the control yoke. She'd switched off the co-pilot's side, so Anni had no control, but the yoke would still move when Emry moved hers. It allowed Anni to feel like she was controlling the ship, and when Emry gently eased back on the yoke to get them into the air, she heard Anni gasp in surprise and awe.

Emry started them out slow, then opened the throttle up once they were away from the base. They zipped over the terrain, Emry twisting, turning, and rolling the fighter. Anni squealed with delight the entire time, and Emry couldn't help but have a grin plastered on her own face seeing the girl's reaction. It brought back memories of the first few times she'd flown, and how exhilarating it had been. And today, it also brought back the memory of the first time she'd taken Jaina flying. 

Jaina's reaction hadn't been quite as good as Anni's, but it hadn't mattered to Emry. She'd been ecstatic Jaina had even suggested it. That whole trip to Lothal had been like a dream. In the eight months they'd spent apart, not a day went by that Emry didn't think of Jaina. Her sole reason for surviving every battle she fought in became about Jaina—staying alive so she could see her again. And when General Syndulla told her they were returning to Lothal to assist Ahsoka with Jaina's training, she was both relieved and terrified at the same time.

She'd had no idea if Jaina even felt the same way she did and had been too terrified to bring it up, even though it was driving her mad not knowing. But then, they'd gone flying. And that's when Emry had found out that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Jaina felt the same way she did. Almost losing her only days after that had only served to strengthen the bond between them. Sure, they had their ups and downs, just like everyone else, but there was no one else in the galaxy that knew Emry better than Jaina did.

"What's that?" Anni's curious voice snapped Emry out of her reverie, and she looked at what Anni was pointing to. They were nearing the capital and she assumed Anni was asking about the domed city in the distance. When Emry looked, however, she saw her comm indicator light was blinking.

Frowning, she activated it. "Yes?"

"Where are you right now?" It was Bo-Katan's voice and she sounded more serious than normal. Emry quickly punched a button, muting the ship's comm and sending the transmission straight to the comlink in her helmet.

"Out near the capital." Emry felt the urge to explain why she'd taken the fighter out—a leftover habit from the Rebellion—but she held her tongue. She knew Bo didn't care. She'd told Emry the fighter was hers to do with as she pleased, so long as she took care of it and didn't do anything stupid with it.

Bo-Katan didn't reply right away, and Emry could hear her speaking to someone in the background. "I can turn around and head straight back if you need me though," Emry added, wondering what was going on.

"No," Bo-Katan replied. "How far out from the capital are you?"

Emry checked her displays. "Ten minutes, tops. What's going on?" Something in the back of her brain told her whatever it was, it wasn't good, and she swallowed nervously.

"An operation went wrong and they need an extraction immediately," Bo-Katan answered. "Sending you the coordinates—" she paused for a second "—now."

Emry watched her screens and a moment later one flashed with the coordinates. "Got 'em," she said. "I'll contact you once the extraction is complete."

"Copy that," Bo-Katan said. "And Emry...be prepared for combat." Emry straightened in her seat and glanced over at Anni. She wasn't paying Emry or the one-sided conversation she was having any mind. She seemed blissfully unaware of what was going on. Emry ran her eyes over the girl's harness, making sure it was still secured, then looked back at her displays.

"Copy. Out here." Emry ended the transmission then pressed a few buttons on the console, activating her shields and charging her cannons. She opened the throttle up and sped towards the coordinates, hoping that it wasn't Jaina who needed rescuing but knowing that it probably was. Her intelligence group was the only one that ever went to the capital with any regularity, and she'd all but told Emry that's where she was going today.

"Anni," Emry said, putting all the authority into her voice she could. Anni looked over at her, and Emry could tell she'd heard the change in her tone. "We have to make a stop before we go back because someone is in trouble and needs our help."

"Okay," Anni replied. Emry looked over at her, making sure she was paying attention, before speaking again.

"I need you to stay in your seat and keep your harness on no matter what, okay?" Anni nodded. "Good." Emry turned her attention back to her displays, noting that her shields were now at full power and her cannons were fully charged. The city was rapidly growing larger in front of them, and Emry angled the ship away from it, towards the coordinates Bo-Katan sent her.

She swung the fighter around the side of a cliff and cursed under her breath. It was Jaina all right—Emry could just make out the thin blue streak that was her lightsaber. She was swinging it around rapidly, trying to fend off the constant stream of blaster bolts that were being sent her way by a group of stormtroopers. Emry counted at least ten, and even as she watched, more emerged from the tunnel. They were slowly advancing on Jaina, and Emry counted the seconds as they slowly ticked by, waiting for her ship to come into firing range.

Her helmet's targeting system was already synced to the ship's cannons, so as soon as Emry was in range, she locked onto a target and squeezed the trigger. The forward cannons boomed as they loosed a volley of particle bolts that flew towards the troopers. She'd targeted the troopers near the rear of their formation, trying to keep Jaina out of the line of fire, and her aim had been true. Four troopers immediately fell and the rest scattered for the cover of the tunnel. Emry squeezed the trigger again, sending another volley at them before they could get inside.

Their attention now focused on running for cover, the troopers stopped firing on Jaina, which is exactly what Emry had wanted. Jaina turned and sprinted towards Emry. A few brave troopers, realizing their quarry was getting away, fired wildly at Jaina as she was running, but she easily avoided the shots. Which was just as well, because she was now directly in Emry's line of fire, keeping her from returning fire.

Emry activated the repulsors and brought the ship to a hover fifty meters above the ground. She was in the process of lowering the jump seats—figuring Jaina could jump into one of them and she'd pull her into the ship that way—when she heard Anni gasp.

Emry’s head snapped up and she saw that Jaina was now airborne, having apparently decided to jump to safety while she could. She landed in a crouch on the left wing then scrambled past the cockpit and out of sight. The troopers were out of the tunnel and firing again, and Emry sent another salvo of particle bolts at them then lowered the ramp.

The trooper's fire splashed off the shields as she gently eased back on the control yoke, lifting them out of their range. Emry watched her displays, and when she saw the ramp light turn from red to green—indicating it was now closed—she opened the throttle and sped away, back in the direction of the base.

Emry opened a comm channel and punched in Bo-Katan's frequency. Bo-Katan got right to the point as soon as she answered. "Do you have her?"

"Yes," Emry replied. "En route back now."

"Copy that," came the reply. "Any issues?"

"Stormtroopers had chased her out of the tunnels when I got there, but they weren't a problem," Emry said.

"All right. We'll debrief when you get back." Something in her voice told Emry that Jaina had some explaining to do once they returned to the base.

"Copy that. Out here." Emry ended the transmission just as the cockpit door slid open. She and Anni both turned around to see Jaina limp in, clearly hurting and more than a little angry. She dropped into the seat behind Anni and grunted in frustration.

"Thanks," she said to Emry. "And sorry. I didn't mean to drag either you or Anni into this." She spoke in Basic, which was fine by Emry. The less Anni heard and could take back to her parents, the better. Emry already knew the girl would tell them everything she saw, and Emry was certain they'd never let their daughter fly with her again.

"You're welcome," Emry replied. She tugged her helmet off so Jaina could see her face, knowing it drove her crazy not being able to. "What happened?"

"The whole thing was a trap," Jaina bit out. Her voice shook slightly. "I was ambushed as soon as I got to the location of the meet. I managed to get away and make it back to the tunnels, but they followed me." She looked down at her arm and Emry belatedly realized her shirtsleeve was soaked with blood.

Jaina noticed Emry staring at it and grimaced. "I'm fine, it wasn't a direct hit. One of the troopers got lucky. I couldn't get my lightsaber around in time to block it."

Emry nodded, then silently got up and went to the compartment where the medkit was. Now that her adrenaline was wearing off, all she could feel was an irrational irritation at Jaina. Emry had no idea why she was so upset with her, but almost getting herself killed—again—on the day they'd gotten engaged probably had something to do with it. She handed the medkit to Jaina and sat back down again.

The words were on the tip of her tongue anyway, and in her frustration, they slipped out before Emry could stop them. "Well, maybe the next time I ask you to—"

"Save it, Emry," Jaina snapped. "I don't need a lecture from you." Her tone was condescending and Emry stiffened, feeling her blood run hot. They rarely fought, and even when they did, Jaina had never snapped at her like that before.

Emry regarded Jaina coolly for a moment, then, deciding it wasn't worth it, swiveled her seat back around so she was facing the viewport. She slipped her helmet over her head and switched the autopilot off, giving herself control. If she didn't have something to focus on, she was going to say something she'd regret.

After a moment, Emry heard Jaina get up and the cockpit door slide open, then closed. She sighed and looked over at Anni, who was staring wide-eyed out the viewport. "Are you okay?" Emry gently asked her. Their conversation may have been in Basic, but Anni was old enough to understand their tone.

Anni nodded, then worriedly looked at Emry. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes, she'll be fine," Emry replied. Anni nodded again and went back to staring out the viewport. Emry wasn't sure how much she'd actually seen—she was too short to really see over the console—and she hoped Anni had been spared from watching her kill the stormtroopers. Still, she was going to have an interesting story to tell her parents once they got back.

It was quiet for a while before Anni spoke again. "Can you do that?"

"Do what?" Emry asked her. "Jump as high as she did," came the answer. Emry couldn't help herself and she chuckled. "No, I can't. No one else can either. Only Jaina can do that." Everyone inside the base knew about Jaina, but Anni was still too young to understand how different she was from all the rest of them.

"Well, I'm going to try," Anni said. Emry chuckled again and felt some of her anger and irritation start to fade. She idly rubbed at the ring on her finger, thinking.

Jaina had gotten lucky today, but Emry couldn't help but wonder if she'd come out to train with the other warriors—instead of only training with Ahsoka, which didn't happen very often anymore—that maybe she wouldn't have caught a blaster bolt. Luck— _and the Force_ , Emry thought—were only going to get her so far, and Emry was terrified Jaina's stubbornness was going to get her killed one of these days.

Emry sighed heavily. If they were going to do this—get married and start a family—then they needed to have a serious conversation about expectations and responsibilities. And the sooner they could have it, the better.

_Maybe Jaina's parents had had the right idea after all_. The thought caught Emry by surprise. And the more she thought about it, the more surprised she was that she didn't hate the idea. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing to leave the war behind. It would certainly be safer.

For the first time since her brother had died, Emry began to daydream about a life that didn't revolve around fighting the Empire.


	3. Cresh

Jaina paced between the jump seats, seething. The pain in her leg was growing worse but she ignored it. How could she have been so stupid? It was a question that could've been asked about multiple different things that had occurred over the last few hours, but the only one she was concerned with at the moment, regarded Emry. She angrily shook her head and just barely resisted the urge to punch the bulkhead.

She'd done what she'd promised herself she would never do: take her anger out on Emry. It wasn't Emry's fault that the meet had gone horribly wrong. It wasn't Emry's fault she'd nearly gotten herself killed—again. By some sheer stroke of luck, Emry just happened to be in the area when Jaina had called for the extraction. It was Emry who had every right to be angry with her. 

Jaina knew the only reason that Anni was with Emry was because Emry had promised the little girl she'd take her flying. Which most certainly didn't mean bringing Anni anywhere near the war. The last thing either of them wanted was to put the little girl in danger, and because of Jaina's mistakes, that's exactly what happened. So Jaina continued to pace, making a half-hearted effort to get her anger under control.

Finally, her leg had had enough and buckled as she took a step. Growling in frustration, she slumped into one of the jump seats and put her head in her hands, wincing as the blaster wound on her arm smarted. She'd bandaged it as best she could, but it would still need to be stitched up. And it probably couldn't hurt to get her leg looked at either. That was the most stress she'd placed on it since it had healed, and Jaina was a little worried that she'd damaged it again.

Even now, she could still feel Emry's anger radiating through the cockpit door, and it did little to quell her own. Still, Jaina needed to try to get hers under control. She was going to pay for all her mistakes soon, and she needed to face the consequences with a clear head and calm emotions. She sat up straight and breathed deeply, trying to find something to focus on.

The gasket on her finger—or ring, rather, as Emry had called it—still felt foreign, and Jaina twisted it around and around as she tried to find her center. The events of the morning seemed like a distant memory now but thinking about them helped calm her down. It took a lot longer than she would've liked, but eventually, she felt Emry's anger begin to fade along with her own. And by the time they landed, everyone's emotions were calm.

Jaina could hear Emry talking to Anni through the door as she shut the ship's systems down, so she limped over to the ramp controls and lowered it. She didn't even have to look to know several people were waiting on them to disembark. And out of all of them, Bo-Katan was the one Jaina was dreading seeing the most.

As soon as the ramp was down, Anni's mother and father came rushing into the ship looking for their daughter. Anni's mother shot Jaina a cross look when she saw her.

"Is she okay?" she asked. Before Jaina had a chance to answer, the cockpit door slid open and Anni came rushing out.

"Mama! Papa!" she exclaimed and ran into their waiting arms. Jaina had expected to feel nothing but fear from her, given what had happened, but the only thing Anni was feeling right now was pure excitement.

"Are you okay?" her mother worriedly asked her. She and Anni's father were trying to turn their daughter around so they could inspect her, but Anni jerked out of their grasp.

"I'm fine," she exasperatedly said. "Mama, it was so cool..." And with that, Anni immediately launched into her own account of what she'd seen. When Jaina saw her start mimicking swinging something back and forth, she cringed. She glanced over at Emry, who was standing there, silently listening as well, but her face was masked behind her helmet so trying to discern her reaction was useless. Jaina did, however, see Emry's shoulders slump when Anni got to the part about the stormtroopers "getting hit with the lasers."

After hearing that, Anni's father quietly pulled Emry to the side. He was clearly upset, and Jaina watched them for a moment, trying to decide what to do. She thought about intervening and trying to explain how it was all her fault, but Emry seemed to be handling it, so she let them be. Jaina could already feel Bo-Katan's irritation growing and knew she couldn't put her off any longer. She cast one final glance at Emry, then started down the ramp.

Her leg absolutely refused to cooperate, and Jaina had to hold onto the side of the ship so she didn't fall. Every step felt like a thousand knives stabbing her leg at once. She finally emerged into daylight and saw her parents waiting with Bo-Katan. Her mother and cousin appeared to be deep in conversation; as soon as her father saw her, he came running over. Jaina gratefully put her arm around his shoulders and he helped her the rest of the way down. He didn't let go once they were on solid ground, and they slowly walked over to her mother and Bo-Katan.

Bo-Katan pursed her lips as she studied her, and Jaina had to suppress a shudder at how angry she looked. And felt. She'd seen her cousin's ire directed at others before, but this was the first time it had been directed at her.

"Are Emry and Anni okay?" Bo-Katan asked. Jaina nodded. "Good. Let's get you to medical and then you can explain to me what the hell went wrong."

Her mother didn't look very happy either as they made their way to the medical building. It was a place Jaina had come to despise. She'd spent far too many hours in there, hooked up to machines. Even the smell of bacta made her nauseous now, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust as soon as the door opened. The medical droid pointed to an empty bed; Jaina limped over to it and sat down.

The droid and Jaina were well acquainted, and it didn't say a word as it came over and began its assessment. Jaina watched Bo-Katan nod to her parents, and they quietly left the room. She caught the sympathetic look her father gave her before walking out and swallowed hard. Bo-Katan turned to her, her eyes boring into Jaina as she crossed her arms.

"So...what happened?" Her voice was eerily calm, belying the frustration Jaina could feel coming from her.

"You were right," Jaina said quietly. "It was a trap. I was ambushed as soon as I got to the location. Prudii never showed. I watched the admin building for over an hour beforehand, and he never came out. I thought he might've slipped out another way, or was just waiting on me at the meet location, but he wasn't."

"Which means he's compromised. And likely dead," Bo-Katan said. Jaina nodded. The only good news—if you could call it that—was that he hadn't been Jaina's informant for that long, so his knowledge was limited. "How much did he know?"

"Not much,” Jaina replied. “He only dealt with me directly, not Arne or my mother. He knew he was passing information to a group fighting the Empire, but he didn't know who, and I never told him any details about us."

Bo-Katan nodded and started to pace, thinking. The droid had moved to the blaster wound on Jaina's arm, and she gritted her teeth as it started to stitch the gash shut. _Just one more scar to add to the collection_ , she thought. It was not lost on her that every single one had been given to her by the Empire, either.

Finally, her cousin stopped pacing and looked at her. "Is it safe to assume the Empire knows about you now?" She didn't need to elaborate. Jaina knew exactly what she was getting at and nodded slowly.

"I had no choice. I couldn't let them capture me."

"You shouldn't have even been there in the first place," Bo-Katan angrily retorted. 

"I thought he had information," Jaina replied bitterly. "Information that would help us figure out why that admiral keeps coming here." Her voice rose as she spoke, reflecting her growing anger.

"Then you should've let your mother or Arne go," Bo-Katan said, her voice also rising.

"And if I did, they'd be dead!" Jaina was almost yelling now, and Bo-Katan shot her a warning look. They may be family, but Bo-Katan was still in charge. Jaina took a deep breath before lowering her voice and continuing. "Or captured. I was the only one who could go and you know it."

Bo-Katan stared at her for a moment then slowly shook her head. "Regardless, you're compromised now. As are the tunnels. No more trips to the capital, at least until we can assess the damage that's been done. If we're lucky, they won't figure out who you are or where to look for you, and we will remain safely hidden. If we're not..." She trailed off, leaving Jaina to fill in the blanks on her own. 

"I'm sorry," Jaina said in a small voice. "I didn't mean to put everyone in danger."

"What's done is done," Bo-Katan said stiffly. "In the meantime, since we can no longer rely on Prudii to let us know when the admiral is returning, you're going to go through every Imperial communication we receive. Hopefully, that'll give us an idea when it might be."

Jaina solemnly nodded. It was about as bad as she expected, though she hadn't thought about her exposure leading the Empire straight to them. That was a terrifying thought and made her mistakes seem all that graver.

The droid finished working on her arm and slathered the now-stitched wound with a bacta solution that almost made Jaina gag. It then moved on to her leg, scanning it. Jaina and Bo-Katan watched it work for a moment, then Bo-Katan turned to go. 

"When you're finished here, go home. Get some rest." Her tone made it perfectly clear that there was no room for interpretation, nor argument.

Jaina sighed in defeat. "Yes, ma'am." Bo-Katan walked out, and Jaina saw her stop to speak to her parents before the door slid shut again. A moment later, her parents came in. Jaina had hoped Emry would be with them, but she wasn't. She could feel Emry’s presence fading, along with her cousin's, and knew Bo-Katan wanted her debrief now. 

"You okay?" her father gently asked. Jaina nodded, her eyes suddenly stinging with tears. She felt like a child again, needing her parent’s assurance that everything was going to be all right. They seemed to realize this and hugged her in turn. 

"I screwed up," Jaina lamented, wiping her eyes. "Bad." Her mother started to open her mouth to argue and Jaina shook her head. "Don't try to tell me I didn't. You know I did."

"You did," her mother agreed. "But we'll see how it shakes out. For now, try not to worry. Arne and I can cover the work for the next day or two. Take some time off. Rest. Spend it with Emry." She smiled. "I see you took my advice."

Jaina tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. "Yeah...I did. But I don't think she's very happy with me right now."

"She'll be all right," her mother said gently. "I think she was more worried than angry." Jaina absentmindedly nodded, knowing her mother was just trying to make her feel better. 

The droid finally finished its assessment of her leg and Jaina looked over at it. "So, how bad is it?"

"Your leg is fine," it replied, its mechanical voice flat and unsympathetic. "You're free to go."

Jaina gave it a dubious look. "But I can barely walk. And it hurts like hell. What do you mean, it's fine?"

"There is nothing physically wrong with your leg," the droid explained. "The pain and stiffness are likely from overexertion. It should go away after a while."

Jaina frowned at it but decided against arguing. If it said her leg was fine, then it was fine. "Okay, well can you at least give me something for the pain?"

"I can give you a bacta treatment—"

"No," Jaina quickly said. She wasn't about to let it hook her up to that device again. Dr. Larte had allowed her to keep the contraption her leg had been encased in after she'd crushed it, and it had been used for her physical therapy for a solid year afterward. Not only could Jaina not stand the sight of it anymore, she knew the treatment would take a few hours, and all she wanted to do was go home. 

"Then take these," the droid replied. It handed her a few pills. "Take one now. Wait eight hours, then take another one if you need it." Jaina nodded and swallowed one of the pills down. "If they don't help, then you will need to come back for the treatment." 

Jaina snorted. There was absolutely no way she'd be back for that. She'd just deal with the pain. Her father helped her off the bed, and she limped to the door. She sighed as they walked out of the medical facility. Her home was on the complete opposite side of the base. It was going to be a long, slow walk, allowing everyone to see her. Jaina knew she was imagining things—since their emotions were telling her otherwise—but it felt as though everyone was staring at her, judging her and her mistakes. 

Her parents quietly walked with her. Emry was still with Bo-Katan (Jaina felt her presence as they passed by the command center), and she was grateful for their company. "I know it's been a crazy day," her father said eventually, as they neared her home, "but if you're up to it, we'd like for you and Emry to come over later. So we can celebrate." 

"I'd like that," Jaina said. "I obviously need to talk to Emry first. See how she feels. I'm not sure if she's in the mood for celebrating." 

"Of course," her father said. They'd arrived at her door, and he gave her a hug. "Whatever you want. Just let us know." 

"I will," Jaina replied. She turned to her mother, who also hugged her. 

"I meant what I said," her mother said. "Take the next day or two off. Spend time with Emry. At some point, the two of you need to figure out when you want to have the ceremony."

Jaina nodded. She knew her mother wasn't trying to be pushy, but she was also hinting to her daughter that they shouldn't wait forever to have it. "I'll talk to her about it." 

"Good," her mother said. "We'll be home the rest of the evening, if you'd like to come by." And with that, Jaina watched her mother and father walk away, towards their own home. 

She hobbled inside, tossed her lightsaber onto the table, and kicked off her boots. She headed straight for the bedroom and fell face-first onto the bed, burying her face in her pillow. The emotion she'd been holding back broke free, and tears rolled down her face as she quietly cried. She had no idea how she was going to fix the mess she'd created.

Not for the first time, Jaina found herself longing for her master. Ahsoka always seemed to know what to do or say, and Jaina needed her wisdom and advice now more than ever. But Ahsoka was out of reach for the time being, and Jaina would just have to figure this out on her own. 

After some time, the tears stopped flowing, and she laid there, wallowing in self-pity. She felt Emry approaching and knew she should make some sort of effort to get up but didn't have the desire or motivation to do so. She heard the door open and close, then footsteps. Emry's emotions were calm, but Jaina could feel an underlying worry to them. Maybe her mother had been right. She heard Emry hesitate, then cautiously call: "Jaina?"

Jaina raised her head slightly. "In here," she answered, then laid her head back down. Emry came into the bedroom and paused for a moment, before walking up beside the bed. Jaina rolled onto her side, making room so Emry could sit. A sympathetic look flashed across Emry's face once she saw Jaina's. She tugged one of her gloves off and softly wiped a fresh tear off Jaina's cheek.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Emry asked gently. 

Jaina nodded. "Bo didn't tell you?"

"No," Emry replied. "But she wasn't happy. I got an earful about having Anni with me as well." 

Jaina winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't know she was going to call you for the pickup. I knew you were taking Anni out, but I figured she'd send someone else."

"I was the closest I guess," Emry said. "And it was a good thing, too. I don't know how much longer you would've been able to hold them off. "

"Not much longer," Jaina agreed. "Once they saw my lightsaber I think every trooper in the city was alerted to my position." She snorted softly. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Emperor himself has already been notified of a "Jedi" being on Mandalore."

Emry's eyes widened. "Do you really think it'd get back to him that fast?"

Jaina thought for a moment before answering. "Maybe. If not him, then definitely Vader."

"You said he was in charge of the Inquisitors, right?" Emry asked, and Jaina nodded. "You think he'll send another one after you?"

"No, I don't think they exist anymore," Jaina said. "Ahsoka seemed pretty certain the one I killed two years ago was the last one. Still though...I can't see them just ignoring it. My only hope is that they don't I.D. me. Because if they do, it'll lead the Empire straight to us." She felt a flash of fear ripple through Emry. "That's why Bo is so upset with me. And I can't blame her."

Another ripple of fear passed through Emry, but she gave Jaina a consoling look. "You did what you had to do. It was either defend yourself, or be captured. Or killed." She picked up Jaina's hand and intertwined their fingers together. "And I'm glad you're not either one of those."

Jaina pressed Emry's hand to her cheek, fighting the urge to start crying again. "I'm so sorry I snapped at you. I was mad about what happened, and I took it out on you, and I shouldn't have."

"I know," Emry replied calmly. "I'm not mad at you." She smiled slightly. "At least, not anymore." She bent down and gave Jaina a kiss, then straightened back up again. She motioned to the fresh wound on Jaina's arm. "So...are you going to tell me how this actually happened? Because I've seen you take on just as many of us and come away without a scratch. And our aim is far better than those troopers."

Jaina sighed. Leave it to Emry to realize she hadn't been entirely truthful in her explanation of how she'd been shot. Her hesitation at answering also didn't go unnoticed, and Emry raised an eyebrow at her. "You weren't able to sense it ahead of time were you?" Jaina shook her head slightly in confirmation. Emry pursed her lips but didn't say anything, apparently realizing that chastising Jaina any further wouldn't do any good.

"It's been too long since I've used it," Jaina finally admitted. "And I couldn't focus, and..." She trailed off, not wanting to list any more excuses. The truth was, the blame was all on her. She'd been neglecting her training, making up excuses why she couldn't go out with the other warriors, and now it had come back to bite her. Jaina felt a sharp pang of guilt, knowing that Ahsoka would be disappointed in her if she was here. Her master wouldn't have let her get away with being so casual with her training. 

"It's just not the same without Ahsoka," Jaina said softly.

"I know you miss her," Emry said sympathetically, "but that's not an excuse. She'd want you to continue training regardless." She wasn't trying to be mean, just matter of fact. It was a quality Jaina loved about her—Emry was never afraid to tell her exactly how it was and hold Jaina accountable for her actions. After years of being able to do whatever she wanted, it was refreshing. Although, it had taken some getting used to.

Jaina gazed at her. "I know," she said. "The next time you go out with them, I'm coming with you. If that's okay." 

"Absolutely," Emry replied, nodding. "I was planning on going out tomorrow, in fact. You're more than welcome to come, if you feel up to it." Jaina nodded and Emry bent down and kissed her again. "I'll go start on dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." She got up to leave and Jaina watched her go before realizing something.

"Wait," she called. Emry turned around and walked back into the room. "My parents invited us over tonight. To celebrate. That is, if you want to...if you feel like celebrating." 

Emry smiled. "Why wouldn't I feel like celebrating? Let me shower and change, and then we can go." Jaina smiled back at her, watching as Emry removed her armor, stripping down to nothing. She gave Jaina a playful look as she headed for the shower, and Jaina got the hint. The painkillers the medical droid had given her had finally kicked in and Jaina felt like she was floating as she quickly undressed and joined Emry. 

They spent the remainder of the evening at her parent's home, eating and drinking and celebrating their engagement. Jaina was grateful for the distraction. And the fact that the conversation never drifted towards what had happened in Sundari earlier. But it was never far from her thoughts. Trying to focus on the happiness of the moment and not the potential disastrous fallout was near impossible, but Jaina made the best effort she could.

For the last two years, her life had been flowing along more smoothly than it had in, well, ever. But as she sat around the table with the ones she loved the most, Jaina couldn't help but feel as though it was all about to change. Again.


	4. Dorn

"I don't know how you wear this thing all the time," Jaina grumbled from behind her. Emry chuckled and swung the speeder in a wide arc around an outcropping of rocks. They weren't even halfway to the training area yet, and all Jaina had done since leaving home was complain about how uncomfortable her helmet was.

"You get used to it," Emry replied. She felt Jaina shift uncomfortably behind her and resisted the urge to chuckle again. Jaina might've been born on Mandalore, but Emry didn't know any other Mandalorian that was so resistant to wearing their own armor. Jaina claimed it hindered her vision and movement with her lightsaber, and since Emry had no idea what it was like to wield a lightsaber, she never argued with her. But she always found it amusing.

Today, Jaina had donned only her helmet for the ride out to the training area. The rest of her armor—that she'd forged with her parents not long after the attack on the Imperials that had almost killed her—sat in a corner in their home, collecting dust. Emry couldn't blame her for not wearing it. Jaina didn't actually need it, but her refusal to take part in that tradition was just one more thing that set her apart from everyone else.

"You're sure Tristan's okay with me coming with you?" Jaina asked, finally changing the subject. Emry could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"Yes," she firmly replied. "He's been asking when you were going to join us for a while now. He figured you thought you were too good for us, and that's why you never came out to train."

Jaina scoffed. "Hardly. It's never easy for me when I train with you guys. Probably why I've been avoiding it for so long."

Emry chuckled again and opened the throttle up. It was a straight shot to the training area now, and she enjoyed the adrenaline rush that came from pushing the bike as fast as it could safely go. It wasn't quite the same thrill she got from flying, but it was close. Jaina's arms tightened around her waist in response, adding to the exhilarating feeling. Finally, the other speeders came into view, and Emry eased back on the throttle, slowing them before coasting to a stop next to the other bikes.

They dismounted and Jaina wasted no time tugging her helmet off. She left it on the speeder, and together they crested the ridge that overlooked the immediate training area. It was still fairly early in the morning, but Tristan already had the recruits engaged in sparring practice. The other warriors that made up Tristan's cadre moved between the pairs, watching and offering gruff advice or instructions as needed.

Emry located Tristan and headed straight for him, ignoring the looks from some of the other warriors. It didn't matter how many times they'd seen her, Jaina's presence always elicited stares and whispers. It had annoyed Emry to no end at first, but Jaina never let it bother her, so Emry had just learned how to deal with it. Two years on, and some of the Mandalorians still had no idea what to think of a "Jedi" being one of them.

Tristan and the warrior with him—Elias, Emry realized as they got closer—nodded hello to them as they walked up. "To what do we owe this pleasure?" Tristan said to Jaina, sounding both surprised and amused at the same time.

"I realized I missed having your sister shoot blaster bolts at my head and figured having you do it was the next best thing," Jaina replied, smirking.

"Ha, ha," Tristan said sarcastically. "She'll never admit it, but I've always been a better shot than her."

Jaina laughed slightly. "I would have to agree with you on that. But in all seriousness, I got into an altercation with some Imperials yesterday, and it didn't, uh, go very well." She rolled up the sleeve on her left arm, revealing the blaster wound.

"Well that's something I never thought I'd ever see," Tristan said, crossing his arms. "You Jedi always seem to have a sixth sense about blaster fire. It never touches you."

"See, that's the thing," Jaina said, grimacing. "I couldn't sense it. And you know I'm not a Jedi."

Tristan snorted. "You use the Force and carry a lightsaber as your only weapon. For all intents and purposes, you're a Jedi." Emry watched Jaina roll her eyes and open her mouth to argue, but Tristan cut her off. It was an argument they'd had before, and he clearly wasn't in the mood to continue it now. "So, how can I help? If it's something that deals with the Force, I'm not sure any of us can help you with that."

"That part I need to figure out on my own," Jaina replied. "You can help by having your warriors do what they do best. Whenever you get a chance though." She motioned to the grappling and sparring going on around them. "I don't want to interrupt their training."

Tristan nodded, and the conversation paused for a moment as they all turned toward the match nearest to them, which was becoming intense. At first glance, the pairing looked to be about as uneven as you could get. The female was small and slightly built, while the male was solid muscle and towered over her. He was currently using his size to his advantage and almost had her pinned, when in an instant she squirted out from under him and scrambled to her feet. He was too slow to react, and in another instant, she was on his back and had him in a chokehold. Using the momentum she had, she threw them both to the ground. A few seconds later, the larger man frantically tapped the side of the woman's leg and she released him.

It was obvious he was upset at losing. He balled up his fists and took a few angry steps towards the woman. Elias immediately stepped away from their group and intervened, pushing the man back. Emry turned back to Tristan, seeing he was slowly shaking his head while he watched Elias shove the other man away. "Is that the same one from yesterday who refused to take any instruction I tried to give him?" she asked Tristan.

Tristan nodded. "His name is Petyr. He's been a problem from the start. Too arrogant, thinks he knows everything, and doesn't like taking orders. He'll be hard to break, but eventually, he will."

Emry heard Jaina chuckle and turned to see that Jaina was smirking. "He's just mad he's not the best anymore. He wants to be here; he wants to fight. He just needs to learn how to lose first. I'm guessing it's something he's not used to."

Emry glanced over at Tristan and saw he had his head slightly cocked. "How do you know all that?" Tristan asked Jaina. She shrugged. "Call it a sixth sense. Do you mind if I spar with him for a while?"

"Be my guest," Tristan said. "And regarding the other thing, I was planning on doing some shooting practice after lunch. As long as you don't mind waiting around until then, I think that'll be the best time."

"Sounds good to me," Jaina replied. "I can keep myself busy until then." She unhooked her lightsaber and handed it to Emry. "No one but you touches that." Emry nodded and affixed it to her utility belt. She knew the rules when it came to Jaina's saber. She very rarely handed it off, and when she did, it was only to Emry or Ahsoka. The way Jaina had explained it, she was essentially putting her life in Emry's hands. It wasn't something Emry took lightly.

Jaina walked over to Elias and Petyr, and after speaking to both for a moment, she and Petyr squared off. Emry watched them, waiting to see what would happen. She wasn't disappointed. Petyr, clearly wanting to prove himself, quickly lunged at Jaina. She side-stepped him at the last second and he sprawled onto the ground. A split-second later, Jaina was on top of him. Emry turned back to Tristan, chuckling.

"I almost feel bad for him," she said. "He has no idea what or who he's up against."

"It'll be good for him," Tristan replied. "I'm going to go make my rounds. Feel free to jump in as you like. I have plenty of cadre here today, but the more eyes I can get on them, the better."

Emry nodded her acknowledgment and watched him walk away. She observed the pairs of recruits for a moment, then slowly started to make her way towards one that looked like they had no clue what they were doing. She spent the remainder of the morning with them, teaching them the ins and outs of hand-to-hand combat. By the time they broke for lunch, she was mentally exhausted but happy with the progress they'd made.

"You looked like you were having fun," Jaina said, as they sat down to eat with the other warriors. She was dirty and drenched in sweat but looked more content and at-ease than Emry had seen her in a while. Emry handed Jaina’s lightsaber back to her and sat down next to her, slipping her helmet off in the process.

"I was," Emry replied. "I enjoy teaching apparently." She gave Jaina a sideways smile. "Who knew?"

"I did," Jaina said lightly. "I've seen how you are with Anni. You're good at it."

"And how did it go with Petyr?" Emry asked. "I noticed he looks far more subdued than he did a few hours ago."

"After consistently losing to me for over an hour, he finally gave in and started listening to what I was trying to teach him," Jaina replied. "I think getting his ego stomped on was exactly what he needed. I could feel the shift in his attitude, too. I don't think Tristan will have any more issues with him going forward."

"That's good," Emry said. "What about the issue you were having yesterday? Did it happen again with Petyr?"

"Thankfully, no," Jaina replied. "But we'll see what happens when I'm being used as target practice in a little bit."

Emry made a face. She knew the sardonic edge to Jaina's comment about being target practice was her way of trying to shrug off her nervousness. It was obvious—to Emry at least—the events of yesterday had shaken her. Emry was more than a little relieved that Jaina was finally taking her training seriously again. If she was nervous, then it meant she wasn't taking any of this lightly.

They were about halfway through eating when Tristan ambled his way over and sat down across from them. "So, how do you want to do this?" he asked Jaina. "Same as we did the last time Ahsoka was here?"

"Yep," Jaina replied. "But I want to try something first. Call it a test for your new recruits."

Tristan cocked his head. "I'm listening."

"Even in the few hours I've been here, I've been able to sense that some just don't—" she paused "—have their heads in the right place, if you will. They're a little too eager to fight, to kill. They have no idea about me, correct?"

"Correct," Tristan affirmed, nodding slowly.

"Good," Jaina said. "Without armor or blasters, I appear to be unarmed and unprotected. Order them to fire on me. Then we'll see who might be willing to blindly kill, and who won’t. I wouldn't put it past the Empire to try and insert a spy into our ranks. As we all know, the Empire doesn't exactly hesitate when it comes to killing unarmed civilians…let’s see if any of these recruits are already inclined to do that.”

Tristan thought it over for a moment. "I like it. And who am I to argue with the head of intelligence. Let's do it." His eyes narrowed slightly. "But, what if none of them shoot?"

Jaina smirked. "Then they’ll be in for quite the surprise when your cadre starts shooting at me. Either way, I need practice blocking blaster bolts."

"Well, we can certainly help you with that," Tristan replied, smirking as well. "I'll brief the others on what's going on before we start."

Jaina nodded. Tristan got up and left them alone again. Once he was out of earshot, Emry turned to Jaina, frowning. "You really think the Empire has planted a spy here?"

"It's possible," Jaina said, shrugging. "Based on the communications I've listened to they're fed up with us. I think that's why that admiral has been making visits here. They're planning something. What, I have no idea, but if it were me, I'd want someone on the inside, feeding me information. Just like Prudii was doing for us. I meant what I said about sensing the dark side in some of them, too. It's better to weed it out now than let it fester."

"And you need blaster practice," Emry said. "Two birds, one stone." She shook her head, amused. Leave it to Jaina to come up with a solution that fixed two potential problems at once.

Jaina grinned. "Exactly." She quickly shoved the rest of her lunch into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully before speaking again. "I'm going to go out there now, meditate a little before we get started. Tell Tristan no rush. Whenever he's ready, I'll be ready."

"All right," Emry said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Jaina said. She leaned over and gave Emry a quick kiss on the cheek, then stood up and started walking in the direction of the firing range. Emry saw Tristan give Jaina a confused look as she passed by, and she quickly got up and explained to him what Jaina was doing.

Ten minutes later, Tristan had all the warriors gathered together and explained what was about to happen. He was kind enough to allow Emry to have the first shot at Jaina—if the recruits didn't take it first—and they spent another five minutes coming up with a game plan of how they were going to attack her.

Tristan double-checked their blasters to make sure they were on the lowest setting, then sent them out to the firing range. A few minutes later, the recruits joined them. Tristan had the recruits line up, facing Jaina, who was seventy-five meters or so from them, sitting on her knees in the dirt with her head bowed. The recruits looked around at each other, wondering what was going on. Tristan stepped in front of them and began to pace.

"We're going to begin this afternoon's shooting practice a little differently," he said. He kept his tone even, almost amicable, like having an unarmed civilian downrange from them was no big deal. "I want to see how you do with a target that won't be standing still the entire time."

Emry watched the recruits as he spoke, paying close attention to their reactions. Some exchanged nervous glances, while others impassively stared straight ahead. She wondered which one would take the bait, or if no one would.

Tristan pointed to Jaina. "There's your target." And without another word, he walked through the line of recruits, joining the other warriors behind them. Emry eagerly watched them. Most seemed shocked by the idea that Tristan wanted them to shoot at Jaina, who really did appear to be completely unarmed and oblivious to what was about to happen. After a few moments of uncertainty, one brave recruit finally turned to face Tristan and spoke up.

"But, sir....she's unarmed," he said incredulously.

Tristan crossed his arms and stared at the recruit. "So?" His tone was callous and cold. The recruit's eyes went wide and he turned back around. Still, no one moved. Tristan waited another few moments, and when it became clear no one was going to fire, he gave a slight nod to Emry.

Emry calmly walked through the line of recruits, unholstering her blasters as she went. As soon as she cleared the line, she opened fire. In the blink of an eye, Jaina was on her feet, and Emry had just enough time to dodge her own blaster bolts as Jaina sent them back at her. Seconds later, the other six warriors, to include Tristan, had pushed through the line and were firing on Jaina as well. The goal was to surround her before she could take too many of them out. They slowly started spreading out as they pushed their way forward, firing as they walked.

Emry kept her eyes on Jaina the entire time and immediately noticed how frantic she looked. Her swings with her lightsaber were wild, and she was only barely able to keep the barrage of blaster bolts from touching her. _Come on…settle down_ , Emry silently pleaded with her.

Emry hadn't ever seen Jaina this unfocused before—it was unnerving. Jaina was deflecting the blaster bolts away well enough, but not once had she managed to accurately redirect them back at the warriors who were closing in on her. Emry stared at her as she fired, trying to will Jaina into finding her focus.

And then, Jaina suddenly turned and looked directly at Emry. Emry's breath caught in her throat, watching as Jaina's whole demeanor changed from panicked to calm in an instant. She turned and smoothly whipped her lightsaber around, sending the most recent salvo of bolts back at the two warriors who'd fired them. Emry saw them both stagger backward as the blaster bolts impacted their armor. They immediately took a knee, signaling they were now out of the fight.

Emry heard Tristan curse under his breath over their comms. "Close ranks," he said. "Surround her, now. She won't be able to defend herself if we're coming at her from every direction."

Emry scoffed. "Don't be so sure about that." Still, she did as she was instructed. She heard more cursing as another warrior was knocked out, then another immediately after that. She was starting to wonder if Jaina was purposefully leaving her for last when she saw—too late—the blaster bolts speeding towards her.

One drilled her in her chest plate, the other in her helmet, and she stumbled back. She took a knee, trying to ignore the ringing in her ears. The blasters may have been on their lowest setting, but they still packed a punch.

Less than a minute later, Tristan and Elias were both knocked out, and the fight was over. Jaina looked around, breathing hard, with her lightsaber still at the ready. Emry saw that it took her a moment to realize the fight was over. When she finally did, she straightened up and deactivated her saber. Emry, Tristan, and the other warriors slowly got to their feet. A few were shaking their heads, but all of them walked over to Jaina.

It was customary, when they were training, to shake your opponent's hand after losing, as a show of respect for the talent of the one who beat you. Regardless of what some of the warriors might think about Jaina, they each shook her hand in turn. Emry hung back a little until she was the last one. 

"Good job," she said to Jaina, extending her hand. Jaina gave her a semi-annoyed look but shook it anyway.

"Thanks," Jaina replied. "That went better than I expected it to." She smiled. "Thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?" Emry asked, surprised. "What did I do?"

"Told me to calm down," Jaina answered. "So I did."

Emry stared at her, dumbfounded. "I...I..." She was at a complete loss for words. She didn't think she'd spoken out loud. Had she? "You heard me say that?" Jaina nodded. "I'm pretty sure I only thought it..."

"Well, either way, I heard it," Jaina replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "So, thank you."

"You're welcome," Emry said. "I'm glad I could help. Although," she huffed, "did you really have to send one of the bolts straight at my head?"

Jaina gave her a sheepish look as they started walking back towards the others. "Oops. That wasn't on purpose. At least you had your helmet on. I guess they do come in handy...sometimes." She grinned at Emry.

Emry noticed Tristan trying to get the recruit's attention, but they were all staring in disbelief at Jaina as she walked towards them. Jaina ignored their stares, and the recruits gave her and Emry a wide berth as they passed through the firing line. The other warriors stepped up and started barking orders, and within moments the recruits were beginning to set up the range for their own practice. The rest of the afternoon was spent on shooting, with some movement tactics thrown in. Emry assisted Tristan however she could, while Jaina hung back, observing.

"I'm actually surprised no one took a shot at you," Tristan said to Jaina after they were done. He'd just called an end to the day and they were helping him clean up.

"Me too," Jaina replied. "Still...you should keep your eye on—" she looked around, and started pointing out a few recruits, one by one "—her, him, and him."

Tristan nodded. "Got it. Any particular reason why?"

"Not at the moment, no," Jaina replied. "Just a feeling I get from them."

"You Jedi and your feelings," Tristan said, chuckling. He held up a hand, cutting off Jaina's obvious desire to argue. "I know, I know...not a Jedi. All right. I'll keep an eye on them. Thanks for coming out today. You're more than welcome to join us whenever you want. I hope you know that."

"I know," Jaina said. "And don't be surprised if I take you up on that. I just need to clear it with Bo-Katan first."

Much to Emry's delight, Jaina kept her promise. Over the course of the next few weeks, Jaina split her time: she spent half the day in the command center and the other half with Emry and the other warriors, training. Emry noticed the change in her almost immediately. Jaina’s confidence finally returned, and she was far more laid back than she had been in a long time.

When they weren't working or training, they were debating—with each other and with Jaina's parents—about when the best time to have their marriage ceremony would be. Jaina's parents wanted it soon, while Jaina argued for waiting. At least until they could see if there was going to be any fallout from her incident in the capital.

Emry was caught in the middle. And while she didn't really care one way or the other, she also didn't want to wait forever. A week passed, and then another, and another, and still there was no indication that the Empire had found them. Jaina and Bo-Katan were both cautiously optimistic that they would remain hidden, and things started going back to normal.

Emry—whom Bo-Katan had grounded until the threat from the Empire could be assessed—was finally able to get back in the air, flying her normal ops, patrols, or whatever else Bo-Katan needed from her. Jaina continued to split her time between training with Tristan and the recruits, and her intelligence work.

It was well past dark one evening, about a month and a half after the incident in Sundari. Emry was sitting at the table, tinkering with her helmet, while Jaina had gone to bed early, complaining that she wasn't feeling well. Emry had spent most of the evening taking her helmet apart, trying to figure out what the issue was with the targeting system in it. It had been acting up for days now. She was putting it back together so she could run a test on it when she heard Jaina yell.

She dropped the helmet, her issues with it instantly forgotten, and ran into their bedroom. Jaina was sitting up in bed, her head in her hands, sobbing. Emry rushed over to her and sat down on the bed, pulling Jaina to her. Jaina didn't even try to resist and fell into her arms.

"What happened?" Emry asked gently. "What did you see?" Jaina hadn't had any visions in a while, but Emry had learned the signs. She often wondered why the Force only sent Jaina visions that were bad, and this appeared to be one of the worst. As far as Emry could recall, Jaina had never been this upset after having one.

Jaina didn't reply and continued to cry in Emry's arms. Emry held her tightly, knowing that, at the moment, it was the only thing she could do. Eventually, Jaina started to calm down. She sat back up and laid her head on Emry's shoulder. Emry waited silently, keeping one arm around her. 

"It was awful," Jaina finally said. Her voice was quiet, strained. "There were kids...some no older than Anni. They're being held. I don't know where—" Her voice hitched, and Emry gently kissed the top of her head. Jaina took a deep breath. "They're being tortured, experimented on..."

"Who would do that to children?" Emry asked, suddenly feeling sick. "And why?"

"The Empire," Jaina replied bitterly. "Who else? And that's not the worst part." She picked her head up off Emry's shoulder and looked at her. Her eyes were bloodshot, but Emry could see the fear behind them. "The kids...they're like me. They're Force-sensitive."


	5. Esk

"Dammit!" Jaina exclaimed, slamming her fists into the comm station. A few of the others inside the command center looked over at her, but she ignored them. She punched in the frequency code again, even though she knew it wouldn't work. And once again, all she got was static. Anger flared, and she just barely stopped herself from punching the console again.

"You know, if you break it, you'll never reach her," Bo-Katan said gently. Jaina shot her cousin an annoyed look. She'd been trying to contact Ahsoka for the last three days, to no avail. It had been a long-shot, with the Empire's blockade jamming all long-range transmissions, but she needed to try anyway. The vision haunted her every time she closed her eyes. She was desperate to speak to her master. So she'd keep trying, for as long as it took.

She reached to put in Ahsoka's frequency one more time, and Bo-Katan laid a hand on her arm. "It's not going to work, and you know it. So stop torturing yourself."

Jaina huffed, but she pulled her arm back. "Did you need something?" The words came out far more hostile than she'd meant them to, and she internally cringed as Bo-Katan raised an eyebrow at her.

"As a matter of fact, I did," she replied, choosing to ignore Jaina's tone. "I need you and Arne to go through all the specs we have on Imperial Star Destroyers and locate every vulnerability you can. It's time we break that blockade."

Jaina nodded, then cocked her head. "Do we even have the numbers for an assault like that?"

"Not as many as I'd like," Bo-Katan admitted, "but we'll make do with what we have. Just get me all the information you can, so we can start planning the attack."

"Copy that," Jaina replied. She walked over to her workstation and relayed Bo-Katan's orders to Arne. They immediately got to work, pulling up everything they had on the design and layout of an Imperial Star Destroyer. After some discussion, they came up with a plan of how to divide the work, and dove right in.

Jaina tried not to let her mind wander, but it was inevitable. She couldn't get what she'd seen in the vision out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. It was why she needed to speak to Ahsoka so badly. She knew that at least part of what she'd seen, hadn't happened yet. That part, she hadn't shared with Emry. It was why she'd woken up hysterical. And she knew it hadn't happened yet, because, in that part, _she_ was the one who was being tortured.

Even now, Jaina shuddered, thinking about it. _...that doesn’t mean that what you saw will happen exactly as you saw it. Or even happen at all. Remember that._ Her master's words ran through her mind, over and over. She tried to let the words soothe her, but they provided little comfort. She just couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, what she'd seen was going to happen exactly the way she'd seen it. It was just a matter of time.

A few hours had passed, when Jaina finally looked up from her work and noticed two warriors hurrying over to the comm station. She saw that the light was blinking, signaling an incoming transmission. That in itself wasn't unusual: they were still able to receive transmissions from both on Mandalore and some of the other worlds closest to it. Jaina watched as one of the warriors standing there answered it. Her workstation was too far away to hear what was being said, and she was turning back to her work when she saw the other warrior rush off, into Bo-Katan's small office.

She frowned, wondering what was going on. Normally, anyone who answered an incoming transmission was expected to handle whatever it was, on their own. Curiosity now piqued, Jaina watched Bo-Katan exit her office and calmly walk over to the comm station.

She felt the surprise before she saw it on her cousin's face. Bo-Katan finished speaking and punched a button, ending the transmission. Much to Jaina's own surprise, Bo-Katan turned and marched directly over to her. The look on her face was intense, and Jaina had to stop herself from cowering slightly. Her cousin could be terrifying when she wanted to be.

"Come with me," Bo-Katan said curtly. Jaina immediately obeyed and stood up. Arne gave her a confused look, which Jaina returned with a slight shrug before turning to go. Bo-Katan was already halfway to the door, and Jaina had to rush to catch up with her.

"What's going on?" Jaina asked her, as soon as they were outside.

"You'll see," Bo-Katan simply replied. Jaina couldn't feel anything but surprise mixed with a little worry coming from her. They were heading towards the main entrance, and as they got closer, a sensation Jaina knew all too well, hit her. She froze, eyes going wide. Bo-Katan noticed she'd stopped walking and turned, smiling slightly. "Let's go."

Jaina's face broke into a grin as she jogged past Bo-Katan. She didn't even bother waiting for her cousin and continued on out the main entrance, heading straight for the landing pads. She could now see the familiar shape of a freighter growing larger by the second. She slowed to a walk as the ship settled gently onto the ground, next to some of the starfighters parked there. Bo-Katan caught up to her, and together they walked to the ship.

After a few moments, the ship's ramp began to lower. Relief flooded through Jaina when she finally saw her master standing at the top of the ramp. Ahsoka smiled and started down towards them. Jaina waited until Ahsoka had her feet on solid ground before throwing her arms around her. She knew it was a little ridiculous, but she didn't care. Ahsoka let out a surprised chuckle but returned the hug, and Jaina could feel that she was happy to see her as well.

Jaina finally pulled away and stepped back, allowing Ahsoka to greet Bo-Katan. "Well this is a surprise," Bo-Katan said, shaking Ahsoka's hand. She looked at Jaina. "You're sure your transmissions weren't going through?"

Jaina nodded, then seeing the confused look Ahsoka gave her said, "I've been trying to contact you for days now, but the blockade is jamming everything."

"Ah," Ahsoka said, "well that explains why I haven't been able to get through to you either. But it was time for a visit anyway, so here I am." She smiled again.

"How long are you staying?" Bo-Katan asked her.

"A few days, at least," Ahsoka replied as they began walking. "But there are some things I need to discuss with both of you before I go."

Jaina and Bo-Katan exchanged looks. "All right," Bo-Katan said. "I have some time right now, if that works. Plus, I wouldn't mind getting an update on how things are going outside of Mandalore."

Ahsoka nodded, then looked over at Jaina, almost as if she was asking her permission. "She's got me working on something that'll take the rest of the day," Jaina said with a shrug.

"We'll catch up later then," Ahsoka said. "Although," she continued, raising an eyebrow at Bo-Katan, "perhaps you'll be allowed a couple hours this afternoon for some lightsaber training?"

"I suppose that can be arranged," Bo-Katan said, giving Jaina a small smile. "Just get as far as you can with that report before you go. And make sure you tell Arne to leave when you do. If anything crazy comes up, I can always call your mother in."

"Copy that," Jaina said happily. A little lightsaber sparring with her master sounded like the perfect way to end the day. Even though Jaina knew she was rusty and Ahsoka would surely scold her for it. She was just happy to have Ahsoka here at all. Her mood had been instantly lifted the second Jaina had felt her presence, and she'd almost forgotten about why she'd been desperate to talk to Ahsoka in the first place.

But Jaina hadn't forgotten, and she started to slow as they approached the command center. "Ahsoka," she said as she came to a halt. Ahsoka turned and Jaina could see she felt the sudden seriousness of her mood.

"What's wrong?" Ahsoka asked.

"Nothing...there's just something I need to talk to you about, too," Jaina replied. She hesitated. "A vision I had, actually."

Ahsoka cocked her head slightly, studying her for a moment. "Okay. Do you want to talk about it now?"

"No," Jaina said, "it can wait. I just wanted to let you know."

Ahsoka smiled and placed her hand on Jaina's shoulder. Jaina instantly felt the warmth and comfort of her presence and leaned into it. "I'm glad you did. Is everything else going well?"

"Yep," Jaina said. "We can catch up later, like you said. Better not keep her waiting." Jaina smiled and nodded in the direction of Bo-Katan, who had just entered the command center.

"No," Ahsoka said, chuckling, "better not. I'll come and get you when it's time to train."

"Sounds good," Jaina said. They entered the command center together and went their respective ways: Jaina back to her workstation, Ahsoka to Bo-Katan's office. Her master received a few looks from the others inside, but most of the Mandalorians had become accustomed to Ahsoka’s random visits. Jaina sat down and went back to work. Once she told Arne that he would get to leave early, when she did, it became a game to see who could find the most information before the day was over.

By the time Ahsoka came and got Jaina a few hours later, she and Arne had already compiled a rough report on Star Destroyer vulnerabilities. It would need to be cleaned up before they could send it to Bo-Katan for her review, but Jaina was impressed with how much they'd gotten done in the short amount of time. They made a plan to finish it the next morning, then said their goodbyes. Jaina led the way to the speeder bikes, and thirty minutes later, she and Ahsoka were miles away from the base, in the middle of nowhere. Unless a random TIE patrol flew over, no one would ever know they were there.

Jaina climbed off the bike and turned her face to the sun. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just enjoying the peace and quiet for a moment. She slowly blew the air out of her lungs, taking the time to clear everything from her mind. When she was ready, she opened her eyes and turned to Ahsoka.

She wasn't surprised to find her sitting on the ground with her eyes closed. Jaina sat down across from her and reached into the Force. Ahsoka's presence was there, waiting for her. It was something they'd been working on, meditating together, and Ahsoka clearly wanted to do it right now.

Jaina followed her master as they sank deeper and deeper into the Force, but she was fearful that the vision from the other night would rear its ugly head again. Ahsoka, feeling her anxiety, reached out and placed a calming hand on her knee. Jaina immediately relaxed. She let go of all her hesitation and gave herself completely over to the Force. Everything fell away the deeper they went. It was calm and peaceful, and exactly what Jaina needed. Ahsoka guided her along, eventually, slowly, bringing them both back to the present. When Jaina finally opened her eyes again, she felt better than she had in weeks.

"Thank you. I didn't realize how much I needed that," Jaina said, once Ahsoka opened her eyes.

"You're welcome," Ahsoka replied. "I had a feeling you did. The tension coming off you was so thick I could've cut it with a knife." She stood up and stretched. "I assume from the vision you had?"

"Yeah," Jaina said, "but I'd rather practice for a while first, before we talk about it. If that's okay."

"Of course." Ahsoka turned, as though she was going to walk away from Jaina. In that split-second pause, Jaina saw three seconds into the future.

She wasn't even on her feet yet, but she sprung up and flipped backward, the white blade of one of Ahsoka's lightsabers barely missing her in the process. As soon as Jaina landed she sent a strong push with the Force that sent Ahsoka stumbling back a few steps. Lightsaber already in her hand and ignited, Jaina lunged forward at her master. The grin on her face was mirrored on Ahsoka's as their blades locked together.

"Not bad," Ahsoka said, through the screeching hiss of the blades. Jaina sensed Ahsoka reaching for her second saber and forcefully pushed herself back, breaking their blades apart. Ahsoka ignited her second blade and slowly started advancing on her apprentice. Jaina stood her ground, waiting until Ahsoka was within striking range, then made her move. She unleashed a flurry of aggressive strikes that Ahsoka easily blocked, then went on the defensive as Ahsoka immediately countered with a flurry of her own.

Back and forth they went, gaining ground, then losing it. Their duels were always intense—both were too proud and entirely too competitive to not pour everything they had into them. Inevitably, Ahsoka would always end up the winner, but Jaina made sure it was never easy for her.

The mood this afternoon, however, stayed light and every time Jaina ended up in the dirt with the tip of one of Ahsoka's blades in her face, they'd dissolve into laughter. The afternoon faded into evening, and it wasn't until the sun had started setting behind the mountains in the distance, that Jaina realized how long they'd been out there.

"We should probably get back," Jaina said, as Ahsoka helped her to her feet. "Unless we're out on a mission, Bo doesn't like for anyone to be outside the base once it gets dark. Plus, I'm starving."

Ahsoka chuckled and deactivated her lightsabers. "Fair enough." She began walking towards the speeder bike and Jaina fell into step beside her.

"Good work today," Ahsoka said. "Even though it's been a while since we last dueled, you haven't lost anything. I take it you've been keeping up with your training while I've been gone?"

Jaina winced. "Um, sort of." Ahsoka arched her brow in question and Jaina knew better than to try and lie to her. "I didn't for a while after you left the last time. But then, I had a run-in with some troopers in the capital. Let's just say that convinced me that I needed to get back to it."

Ahsoka paused at the bike and gave Jaina a hard look. "Those troopers...do they know about you now?"

"Yes," Jaina answered. "I had no choice. It was either defend myself or be captured. Or killed."

"When did this happen?" Ahsoka asked. She leaned against the bike and crossed her arms. 

"Almost two months ago," Jaina replied. "We waited, to see if the Empire would attack, but they never did. Bo thinks they either didn't figure out who I was, or just don't have the resources to hunt down a 'Jedi' here."

"Probably the latter," Ahsoka said. "With the Inquisitors gone and the Rebellion growing in size and strength, the Empire's focus isn't on that anymore." She smiled sadly. "Besides, there's so few of us left that it doesn't really matter. The Alliance is a far more formidable enemy for them now."

Jaina frowned. Ahsoka's words— _so few of us left_ —bounced around her mind and dredged up an image from the vision. She wasn't entirely sure who Ahsoka was referring to, but there were more Force-sensitives out there than Jaina had ever realized. And they were in danger—in the hands of the Empire, being subjected to horrors Jaina didn't want to think about, for reasons she couldn't even begin to come up with.

"What is it?" Ahsoka said gently. 

"My vision," Jaina replied. "Ahsoka, we're not the only ones left. There are more Force-sensitives out there, a lot more...I saw them."

Ahsoka stopped leaning against the bike and stood up. Even in the rapidly fading light, Jaina saw her eyes narrow. "When did you have the vision? And where did you see them?"

"A few days ago. I don't know where they are," Jaina said, "but I know the Empire has them. It could be some sort of prison, I'm not sure."

Ahsoka nodded. "What else did you see?"

Jaina closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to picture the images again. "The floor was dirt. The walls...stone maybe? Rock? I couldn't really tell. I saw maybe twenty kids total."

"Kids?" Ahsoka's alarmed voice broke into her concentration. Jaina opened her eyes and looked at her master.

"Yes, kids. The oldest couldn't have been more than fourteen, and the youngest was probably around five. The Empire—" She stopped and took a deep breath. "The Empire is experimenting on them for some reason. And torturing them if they don't cooperate."

Ahsoka started to pace. "I've seen this before...twice actually. Once during the Clone Wars and again a few years before this war started. Both times involved kidnapping Force-sensitive children, but we were able to stop it, or so I thought, before it could get too far. There have been whispers, rumors, that I've been hearing for a while now, telling of the Empire taking children, but I haven't been able to find any proof. Until now."

"My vision gives you proof?" Jaina asked, more than a little skeptical.

"Yes," Ahsoka replied. "I've been looking into the rumors since I started hearing them, but like I said, I couldn't find any solid proof." She stopped pacing and motioned to the bike. "Come on. Let's go back, and I can fill you in on what I've learned so far."

It was completely dark by the time they returned to the base, but the two warriors on guard duty at the main entrance didn't give them so much as a second look when they walked up. Jaina was eager to hear what Ahsoka knew and peppered her with questions while she cooked dinner for them.

Ahsoka told Jaina she'd spoken with some of the parents of those children that had been taken, but most were too fearful of the Empire to really tell her much. All had one thing in common, however: an Imperial officer had shown up at their door and said their child had been identified by the Empire as a candidate for a "special program." Ahsoka said that if the parents didn't willingly give their child up to the officer then, he or she would return with a squad of stormtroopers and take them.

"And the parents had no idea where their child was being taken to?" Jaina asked. They'd finished eating and Jaina had made them some tea to sip on while they talked.

"No," Ahsoka answered. She blew on her tea, then set the cup back down again. "The Empire just took them and left. But I did a lot of digging, and the officers appear to be operating out of a specific part of the Outer Rim. I was able to come up with a list of possibilities, planets that are within that area, but I couldn't narrow it down any further. However, with the details of your vision, we might be able to get an exact location."

Jaina frowned and took a sip of her tea. "I told you everything I saw though. I couldn't really identify anything that might be able to hint at a specific location, or even a planet."

"You've only had the vision once? It hasn't appeared again?"

"Only once," Jaina confirmed. Ahsoka looked at her thoughtfully and took a sip of her tea. "If you're willing, I can teach you how to access the vision again. And stay in it, for as long as you can."

Jaina felt an involuntary shiver pass through her. The last thing she wanted to do was revisit what she'd seen, what she'd experienced, but if it helped to get a location of where the children were being held, then she'd do it.

She slowly nodded. "Okay. I suppose it couldn't hurt to try. Although," she turned slightly towards the door, "it's probably going to have to wait until tomorrow, if that's okay."

She turned back to Ahsoka, who was giving her a curious look and smiled, waiting. A minute later, the door slid open and Emry walked in. Her face broke into a grin when she saw Ahsoka sitting at the table. "I saw the general's ship when we landed and wondered if that was you," Emry said. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you again, too," Ahsoka said, smiling warmly at Emry.

Emry crossed over to the table and set her helmet down. She leaned over the table slightly, making a point to look directly at Jaina. "Did you tell her? About your vision?"

"Yes, I did," Jaina replied, looking up at her. "In fact, that's what we were talking about before you came in."

"Good," Emry said. "Let me get cleaned up, then you can both fill me in on what you were talking about." She turned to go, but Jaina grabbed her hand and pulled Emry back to her. Emry chuckled and bent her head to receive Jaina’s kiss. Now satisfied, Jaina released her.

"We ate already, sorry," Jaina said, as Emry headed towards their bedroom. "I wasn't sure if you had or not, so I made you a plate, if you want it."

"Yes, thank you!" Emry called, disappearing into their room. Jaina looked at Ahsoka, who was studying her intently. "What?" Jaina cautiously asked her.

"Nothing," Ahsoka replied. "We can wait until tomorrow, if that's what you want. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Emry there as well. I know she helps to center you. And, I get the feeling there's more to the vision than what you've told me." She cocked her head. "You saw something that terrified you, didn't you?"

Jaina quickly looked away. She should've known Ahsoka would know if she was withholding information from her.

"Yeah," Jaina said quietly, staring at her cup. She sighed and looked up at her master. "It wasn't just the kids I saw there. I was there. With them."

Ahsoka stared at her, then slowly nodded. "And the torture...the experimentation..."

"Was happening to me," Jaina said, finishing her thought for her. "I mean, I assume it's happening to them as well, but in the vision...I was the one going through it."

"That is disturbing," Ahsoka said. She glanced behind her, towards Jaina and Emry's bedroom. "Did you tell Emry about that?"

Jaina vigorously shook her head. "No. And I don't plan on it either. It would only scare her. Besides, it obviously hasn't happened yet, so there's no guarantee it will happen." She gave Ahsoka a wan smile. "I don't want to worry her if I don't have to."

"I understand," Ahsoka said. They sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So, what's your plan?" Jaina asked tentatively. "Are you going to try and free those kids?"

"I'd like to, yes," Ahsoka replied. "Especially after hearing about what you saw. But I'm just not sure the Alliance could or would spare me any resources for a rescue mission. They're stretched pretty thin as it is. That's actually part of the reason why I'm here. I was going to—"

"I'm in," Jaina blurted out. "That's what you were going to ask, right? If I'd help you find them and free them?" Ahsoka sat back in her chair, a pleased look on her face, and nodded. "I can't just forget about what I saw," Jaina continued. "We have to help them."

"Who?" Emry chimed in, walking out of their room. "Who do we have to help?"

Jaina cringed slightly, wondering how much she'd heard. She and Ahsoka exchanged glances as Emry walked around the table and sat down next to Jaina. She looked between the two of them, waiting for an answer. "The Force-sensitive kids, from my vision," Jaina finally said.

"What about them?" Emry asked. She looked between the two of them again. "Do you know where they are?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "Not exactly. I've been able to narrow it down to a specific area in the Outer Rim, but that's it."

"But with Jaina's vision, you might be able to figure it out. Right?" Emry stood up again and walked over to the kitchen.

"Right," Jaina answered her. "That's the hope, anyway." Emry didn't respond and busied herself with heating up her food. Jaina could feel her frustration but wasn't sure of the reasons behind it. She really didn't want to go without Emry's support, but she wasn't going to let what she saw keep happening to those kids. She was going, with or without Emry's permission.

"So," Emry said, finally turning back around to face them, "when do we leave?" Jaina and Ahsoka exchanged surprised looks, which didn't go unnoticed by Emry.

"Oh, don't think I'm letting you do this without me," she scoffed. "You're not the only one who wants to help those kids." She brought her food over to the table and sat down. "How are you going to convince your cousin to let us leave, though? It's not like we have pilots to spare here, and you're in charge of her entire intelligence operation."

"Leave Bo to me," Ahsoka said. "I've already filled her in on my investigation, and she's aware that part of the reason I'm here was to ask Jaina to join me. If you're serious, I'll talk to her tomorrow about allowing you to go as well."

"I'm serious," Emry replied. "I want to help, however I can." Ahsoka inclined her head slightly, and Jaina smiled and reached over, giving Emry's arm a small squeeze of appreciation. Regardless of what was going to happen, having Emry with her was far more preferable than not having her there. Suddenly, Jaina stiffened in her seat and groaned. Emry and Ahsoka looked at her, completely confused.

"We're going to have to put this conversation on hold, for now," Jaina said. She gave Ahsoka an apologetic smile. "The rest of your welcoming party is here." Sure enough, not thirty seconds later the door opened and her mother and father walked in. Jaina saw the bottles of wine her mother was carrying, and immediately knew they were in for a long night.

"We heard you were around," her father said to Ahsoka, "but we wanted to see for ourselves. Figured if you were anywhere, you'd be here."

"You were right," Ahsoka said warmly. "It's good to see the two of you again. We were just catching up, so you came at the perfect time."

Jaina's mother walked into the kitchen and pulled out cups for all of them, while her father brought two more chairs to the table.

"So I take it they told you the good news, then?" her mother asked Ahsoka as she poured everyone a drink. Her back was turned to them, so she didn't catch Ahsoka's confused look or the guilty one that crossed both Emry and Jaina's faces.

"What good n—" Ahsoka started to say, eyeing Jaina and Emry suspiciously.

"We haven't had a chance to tell her yet," Jaina broke in, cutting Ahsoka off. She glanced over at Emry, then said, "Emry and I are getting married."

Ahsoka didn't even bother trying to hide her surprise, and it took her a moment to recover. "Well...that is good news. Congratulations." She inclined her head at both of them and accepted the cup of wine Jaina's mother handed her. "When?"

"We were wondering the same thing," Jaina's father said. He took a sip of his drink and eyed his daughter. Jaina looked to Emry for help, but she just shrugged.

"Soon," Jaina said. Her mother and father groaned, while Ahsoka laughed and Emry exasperatedly shook her head. Jaina grinned at them and shrugged sheepishly. Thankfully, her mother and father turned their attention to Ahsoka, and the conversation dissolved into updates about the war.

Ahsoka told them that the Rebellion had just recently lost a major battle on some backwater ice-covered world named Hoth, and was now spread throughout the galaxy, trying to avoid the Empire. After hearing about how badly the Alliance was struggling at the moment, Jaina could see why they might not want to throw any of their already dwindling resources towards a rescue mission that, in the grand scheme of things, didn't have much to offer in the way of a major victory against the Empire.

Eventually, the conversation turned away from the dreary talk of war and became much more lively as the evening wore on. They drank and talked until late into the night, and by the time her parents left and Ahsoka had retired to her ship, Jaina was tired. She was also a little drunk. Maybe it was all the wine, but as she lay in bed, watching Emry get ready to join her, it hit her.

"We should do it now," she said.

Emry poked her head out of the bathroom and looked at her. "Do what now?"

"Get married," Jaina replied. She smiled at Emry, but Emry gave her a quizzical look.

"Where's this coming from? If this is about your father asking, you know he's just teasing us. I thought you weren't going to let them pressure you." She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame, peering at Jaina through the darkened room.

"I'm not, and this isn't about them." She sat up in the bed. "Why not do it now? Ahsoka's finally here, and if we're going to be leaving with her...well, who knows how long we'll be gone and I don't want to wait any longer." Emry said nothing, and Jaina quickly added, "I mean, unless you do, then we absolutely can."

Emry continued to gaze at her for another moment, then she smiled and walked over to Jaina's side of the bed and sat down. "No, I don't want to wait any longer either. Let's do it."

Jaina grinned and pulled Emry to her. She kissed her softly. "Okay. We'll go talk to Bo tomorrow, and see when the best day would be."

"Sounds like a plan," Emry said, grinning as well. "In the meantime though..." She smirked and made a point to let her eyes drift down to Jaina's bare chest.

"That's the wine talking," Jaina laughed. Emry shrugged and, continuing to grin mischievously, gently pushed Jaina back down onto the bed and crawled on top of her. Emry kissed her deeply, passionately, and Jaina let her in completely, allowing her presence to fill all of her senses. The outside world faded to nothing as Jaina's focus narrowed to the woman she loved.

"I want to try something," she murmured in Emry's ear, after a few blissful minutes. Emry stopped kissing down Jaina’s neck and pulled her head back, giving Jaina a puzzled look.

"Okay...like what?" Emry asked. She cocked her head. "Is this the wine talking?"

Jaina shook her head and chuckled. "No. It's nothing crazy, I promise. Do you trust me?"

"Of course," Emry replied. She hesitated then Jaina felt her relax slightly. "All right. What is it that you want to try?"

"You'll see," Jaina said. "Hopefully." Before Emry could ask any more questions, Jaina pulled her down and kissed her. "For now, just kiss me."

"Mmm, I can definitely do that." Jaina waited a few more minutes, allowing the intensity to build between them again, then reached out into the Force. Emry's presence was right there, burning bright. Jaina had no idea if this was even going to work or not, but figured it was worth trying.

She'd accidentally formed a bond in the Force with Ahsoka when Ahsoka had used it to save Jaina’s life two years ago. Ever since then, Jaina had been curious if the same thing could be done with Emry. And if it could be done with someone not sensitive to the Force, like she and Ahsoka were, she was even more curious as to what that bond would look and feel like.

For her and Ahsoka, it manifested in an innate awareness of the other at all times. Even if they were separated across the galaxy, Jaina could always feel her master. The bond was even stronger when they were together, and Ahsoka had been working with Jaina to try and control it. The last time they'd practiced, they'd been able to communicate with each other without ever saying a word. It was intimate and intense. She and Ahsoka were connected in a way she could be with no one else, and Jaina wanted that same feeling with Emry.

Ahsoka had cautioned her about trying it with someone who wasn't Force-sensitive, but eventually realized Jaina wasn't going to give up on the idea and had sat her down and taught her what she knew.

"If you're going to do this," Ahsoka had said, "I'd rather you do it the right way, than try and fumble your way through it, and screw it up." By the end of the lesson, however, the idea had lost its luster, and Jaina had pushed it to the back of her mind. Until now. 

For a moment, Jaina hovered around the edges of Emry's presence; then, like two rivers flowing into one another, she slowly merged her own presence with Emry's. The effect was instantaneous.

She'd always been able to strongly feel Emry's emotions, but this multiplied that feeling tenfold. A slight gasp escaped Jaina's lips as every emotion Emry was feeling flooded through her, mingling with her own. It was exhilarating, arousing, and wholly overwhelming, and Jaina had to fight to not lose herself completely.

At the same time, Emry stiffened and sucked in a sharp breath. For an agonizing few seconds, Jaina thought she'd somehow hurt her, and wondered if she should sever the connection. Then, Emry moaned softly and her body relaxed. Jaina had no idea how the experience was affecting her, but if it was even a fraction of what she was feeling, it had to be overwhelming.

"What's going on?" Emry asked, somewhat breathlessly. She was still on top of Jaina and starting to move her hips in a way that was driving Jaina's desire sky-high. Jaina knew that if she could feel Emry's emotions this clearly, there was a good chance Emry was at least feeling some of hers.

Unable to hold back any longer, and wanting to test her theory, Jaina began moving her hips in rhythm with Emry's and focused on pouring all her desire through the connection.

Her theory was immediately proven correct when she heard Emry moan again. "What is that...what's happening?" Emry's words were strained and breathy, and reflected everything Jaina could feel coming from her. For a desperately long moment, Jaina fought for control, so she could answer her.

"Me," Jaina replied, her voice just as strained as Emry's. "It's me." She swallowed hard and forced her eyes open. Emry's face was hovering above hers, eyes wide open, staring at her. "What do you feel?" Jaina was desperate to know what was going on, on Emry's end of the connection.

"Everything," Emry breathed. She closed her eyes. "I don't know how to describe it..."

Her lips found Jaina's and their emotions surged again. Jaina was starting to realize that, since she controlled the connection, she was essentially controlling Emry's emotions. Granted, they were on the same page right now, feeling and wanting the same thing, but somewhere in the back of her mind, Jaina knew that that ability could become problematic. For now, though, she pushed the thought out of her head. She'd worry about it later.

Emry pulled her face away from Jaina's again, breathing hard. "So, everything I'm feeling...all that emotion...is you?"

Jaina nodded. "And you too. Our emotions...they're joined together right now."

"How?" She didn't sound scared, or worried, or anything like Jaina had imagined she would.

"The Force," Jaina replied. "I connected us through it. It's why you can feel everything I'm feeling. And I can feel everything you're feeling." She then hesitantly added, "I can stop it though, break the connection. If you want me to."

Emry didn't answer and kissed Jaina again. "No," she murmured. "Don't break it. I want to feel you." Her lips returned to Jaina’s, and she trailed her hand down Jaina's stomach to the inside of her thigh. "All of you."

Jaina's breathing hitched as Emry's teasing fingers finally came to a halt, right where Jaina had hoped they would. "I want to feel everything." And with that, Emry hesitated for only a split-second longer, before giving Jaina exactly what she was craving.

Pure ecstasy rocked Jaina's entire body, flowing freely through their connection. She let go of all control and gave herself over to Emry completely. Jaina knew they were messing with something she didn't fully understand, and there were sure to be consequences for that.

But right now, in this moment, she just didn't care.


End file.
